


Utilizing Our Demons ~ Roman Sionis

by imagineaworlds



Series: Demons of the Sionis Family [2]
Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020), Birds of Prey (Comic), Birds of Prey (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:33:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26641492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagineaworlds/pseuds/imagineaworlds
Summary: A year has passed since Morgana "Mor" Wreef met Roman Sionis. After falling completely head over heels for him, they have been ruling over Gotham by each other's sides. As things progress with Roman's nemeses, Joker and Harley Quinn, an opportunity appears for them to take power and gain unimaginable wealth. Together, Mor and Roman work towards being the sole king and queen couple in the crime world of Gotham City.~~~~Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn.Roman Sionis x Morgana "Mor" Wreef (OC).
Relationships: Roman Sionis/Original Female Character(s), Roman Sionis/Victor Zsasz, Roman Sionis/Victor Zsasz/Original Female Character(s), Victor Zsasz/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Demons of the Sionis Family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926778
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. The Prologue

The moon’s light dimmed as we entered the forest hand in hand. The tall trees with thick branches and leaves prevented the night sky from shining through overhead. We walked side by side along a dirt path that stretched about a quarter of a mile, and the birds seemed to follow us the entire way with their chirps and hums. As we walked and listened to the birds sing for us, we were utterly silent. I was sure he was thinking about what he was going to say or do, and I didn’t want to disturb him. It was an important night, and the place that we were headed towards was even more important.

As we approached the clearing in the woods that was our destination, a cold fall breeze flew past us. I cozied up to his side and he held me close by throwing an arm over my shoulders. We came to a stop in front of a circle of large marble mausoleums. We walked into the middle of the circle and approached one of the newer tombs.

His arm fell from my shoulders as I stepped forward to put the bouquet of flowers we brought on the steps. I tried not to take up too much time before him, knowing that it was his idea to travel out to see her the night before.

I took a few steps back and dug my hands in the pockets of my black trench coat I watched from a short distance as he crouched down in front of her tomb and put a hand over the flowers I left on the step. He stayed like that for a while… Both of us there in silence. I thought about what it would have been like to have her with us for tomorrow. He would have been so happy to see her face light up when it was finally official.

I wondered if she would have even liked me… Did she think I was good enough to him—  _ for  _ him? I was beginning to feel self conscious about joining him on his walk through the woods to see her. It felt so private, but he insisted that he couldn’t do it alone, so I obliged him.

No one had ever brought me out to the mausoleums before. People had told me about them, but I had never seen them with my own eyes. They were more gorgeous than anyone had ever described to be. There were five of them built, four of them holding his ancestors— his mother being one. All of them shared his last name, and his grandfather even shared his first name. Their names were engraved on golden plaques bolted to the fronts of the mausoleums, just above the locked gates in front of the doors.

To the left of his mother’s tomb was the only empty one. It had been saved for his father, but he made sure that his father never got a proper burial or funeral, and certainly no spot in the woods. Now the tomb was reserved for him. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought.

When he sniffled quietly and his shoulders shook, I realized that I had given him too much space. I walked back to him and crouched beside him, “She’s proud of you. I know she is.”

Roman looked up at me, “I wish she was here to see it.”

My hand held the side of his face and my thumb caressed his cheekbone, “I know, baby.” 

Neither of us had any family left except for each other. Roman loved his mother more than anything, and I knew he hated missing out on having a mother while growing up, and I knew that he hated that she couldn’t come to our wedding. If there was any one person from either of our families that we would have ever imagined inviting, it would have been Roman’s mother…

“She would have loved you. I just know it. And she would have been so excited about tomorrow.”

Roman took my hand gently and helped me stand straight. We stood up in front of the tomb and my head found his shoulder for comfort. Another gust of wind passed by and I shivered. It was so dark and eerie out there, deep into the woods, surrounded by dead people. I had hoped that the night before our wedding would be a little more… romantic... than this. Not that I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to be there for Roman, but I also just wanted to be with him. But, then again, I suppose that we’d have the rest of our lives to just be together after getting married.

_ Marriage. I’m marrying Roman Sionis… I don’t understand how I got so lucky. _

“It’s getting cold,” Roman whispered, rubbing my forearms for me to create friction in order to warm me up, “we should head back.”

“Are you sure?”

Roman nodded and started leading me away from the circle of tombs. We walked back through the woods in the cold night, and I didn’t even feel scared. If you would have met me even a year ago, I would have been terrified of attempting such an endeavour— simply because of  _ Him _ and the mark he left on my mind. And even then, when I first moved to Gotham and decided to give the city a chance and went out on my own at night, I was jumped, groped, and harassed. But that was so long ago and I was a completely different person. In the year that I had lived in Gotham City, I had endured so much, but I had learned two fold from those experiences. I learned how to play the games, how to defend myself, how to be strong on my own, and how to love. Roman taught me nearly all of those, Zsasz having a hand in the defense department. But with all of that new knowledge, a walk deep in the woods late at night didn’t rub me the wrong way because I knew that the darkness was the least frightening part out there. I also knew that no matter who or what could have possibly been lurking in the trees wasn’t any real danger anymore. Not with all of those knife lessons Zsasz had been giving me.

Besides, I had Roman with me, and he was just as crazy and violent as me. The two of us wouldn’t have a problem with anything the world could have possibly thought to throw at us that night.

The old, yellow brick, moss and vine covered cottage was just ahead with all of its lights on. From just down the path, we could see Zsasz’s shadow pacing in his room through the sheer white drape covering the window. He looked to be on the phone, probably something about work and how Roman took the weekend off for the wedding. Practically all of the East end of Goth City was currently losing its shit because Roman Sionis, the Black Mask, was taking a few vacation days. Maroni especially didn’t like it until we told him that it was for our wedding. At first he was upset that he wasn’t getting an invite, but then he kissed us both and congratulated us the true Italian way— with a night full of booze.

Roman held the door open for me then followed me past the top to bottom green living room and up the creaky wooden stairs. We tiptoed our way into our bedroom, hoping to sneak past Zsasz without being caught. I felt like a high schooler again, trying to sneak home after a long night out without my parents noticing. It nearly made me laugh, but I tried to keep it together until we closed the door and I fell onto the bed.

I made a comment about how nice and warm it was inside while Roman took off his jacket and hung it up. He was being suspiciously quiet, but I linked it to visiting his mother’s grave and decided to not mention it. But I also promised myself that if it had to do with more than that, then I’d bring it up with him. 

I propped my back up by supporting myself with my elbows on the mattress. Roman looked over at me as he pushed his hair back and wiped his face with his hands. The room was silent as we watched each other, like we each expected the other to say something first. But I didn’t know what he was thinking, and I could tell that he didn’t know what I was thinking.

“We can just go to bed, you know,” I finally spoke up. He pushed his hair back again and I realized that he was nervous about the wedding, not visiting his mother or anything else. He was worried about what the next day would bring. “Come here,” I reached out for his hand and carefully pulled him towards me. He playfully stumbled forward like he was being moved against his will. I sat up at the edge of the bed and pulled him down so that he was on his knees in front of me and we were nearly face to face. “I love you.” I combed my fingers through his hair with one hand to comfort him, while he stole my other hand and kissed it tenderly. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

He ignored how I was clearly egging him on to tell me more with another palm kissed followed by him whispering, “I love you.”

Roman reached up and slid off my black jacket for me before folding it neatly and setting it to the side. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and started lifting it up and over his head. He discarded his shirt to the same pile where my jacket was before taking my shirt off for me, too. We did this for each other slowly, in no rush for something other than to just be with each other. Fucking each other until we saw stars was certainly always fun, but this was different. I didn’t need to feel him inside me to know that we loved each other and that we  _ saw _ each other. We were stripping each other of our clothes, but also the walls we had somehow put up over the past few days while worrying about the wedding.

Every worry or doubt I had boiling inside of me slowly melted away as he helped me move back further onto the mattress before towering over me. He kissed my lips, my cheeks, my jawline, my neck, my collarbone, all the way down the valley between my breasts, down my stomach, then each hip. He gently unbuckled my pants, then unbuttoned them, then slowly slid them down, kissing my legs as the skin was exposed.

My hands instinctively reached down for his hair again, but this time I tangled my fingers in the black strands. As he kissed up my legs again and moved between my thighs, he undid his pants and discarded them to the side, too. I genuinely thought that he was going to take me then and there, and I was fine with that; but he simply rolled onto his side and cuddled me close to his chest.

As my thumb found his soft lips, his index finger found one of my curls and started playing with it. Still, neither of us said anything. We just stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, naked, and playing with each other’s features. His blue eyes set me in a trance that made me fall asleep faster than a baby. I didn’t fuss or fight it, though. I laid there, relaxed and comforted, and simply just… fell asleep… 

I was standing in front of the window, watching as the guards outside walked around the perimeter of the edge of the forest surrounding the cottage. Roman made sure that they were all dressed nicer than usual, but the AR’s in their hands mostly ruined the illusion. Though, it wasn’t like we were having an elegant, over the top wedding that required our entire security staff to stay hidden in the treelines. Roman and I decided a long time ago that our wedding was going to be small and simple, because it wasn’t the wedding that was meaningful to us. It was the titles and our love. Being able to call each other husband and wife felt unmatched to anything I had ever anticipated before in my life.

So we picked the cottage for the wedding, only invited our closest friends, and we called it a day. As for my dress, though, Roman insisted I only have the best, of course. Roman always liked to pick out my clothes, and this dress was nothing different. I made him promise not to buy the most expensive designer dress he could find. And while he definitely still bought a dress that was probably more than the cottage itself, he managed to hold himself back from buying a giant princess gown. I was shocked when he showed me the dress for the first time… thinking about how gorgeous and perfect it was for a little wedding out in the woods. He was always too good to me… 

Zsasz was sitting at the picnic bench in the front garden, and I was watching him intently. He looked so nervous while studying his notes for the ceremony. Yes, Roman and I somehow managed to convince Victor Zsasz to get ordained so that he could marry us. He fought it at first, saying that it was too lovey-dovey for him, and he would find someone else to do it. But Roman worked his charm on his best friend over a few days, and finally managed to persuade him. Even though we both knew it could totally lead to a disaster of a wedding, we wanted it to be Zsasz. It could only be Zsasz.

Roman snuck up behind me and caught me in his arms, holding my waist tightly. I rested my head against his shoulder and laughed as he swayed my hips with his. His gloved hands felt up the fabric of my silk wedding dress as he hummed our favorite song in my ear. I started humming along with him while watching a bird fly by the window.

“It’s a great day to get married,” I whispered.

Roman kissed the side of my head, “Are you nervous?”

I chuckled, “Obviously. But… I’m also not? Honestly, I think I’m just ready to get it over with and finally be one fucked up family.”

“Fucked up family? That’s very generous of you, Ms. Morgana.”

“Mmm… Sorry, I’m trying to stay PG for our wedding day,” I joked.

Roman took my hand and spun me around gently so that the skirt of my dress flowed up and out for him. I showed off every detail for him, spinning an extra time of my own volition just so he could get a good look at me. The lace on my sleeves moved around ever so slightly as he ran a finger up and down my left arm to get a feel for the texture after I stopped spinning so that I could face him. “I have a question… Honeymooning isn’t really our thing. Is it?” I asked Roman, playing with the collar of his tux.

“It could be, if that’s what you want.”

“I want you. I don’t care where that is.”

“You love it out here, and once upon a time I promised you that we would come out here whenever you wanted. I haven’t really held up my end of that deal, so I think it’s time to do so. Why don’t we just stay out here for a few weeks? Zsasz can head back into town and keep an eye on things.”

“You’re speaking my language, Mr. Sionis,” I whispered as I inched my face closer to his. He couldn’t even think to utter another syllable or find the strength to hold himself back before he kissed me deeply. My hands slid up to his face and held his cheeks.

“Are you ready for this, Mrs. Sionis?” he asked when we parted for a breath.

“In no shape or form. You?”

“Not at all.”

“Then, let’s do this.”

He kissed me again, “I love you.” I leaned into his kiss for a brief moment before gently pushing him back, a nudge to get him to go downstairs. I knew that if we wasted another second in that bedroom together, we’d end up on the bed fully nude, undoing all the hard work we had gone through to prepare that morning. Roman caught himself on the doorframe and turned around to say, “I love you,” again. I winked at him and bit my lip in a futile attempt to calm my nerves.

I turned back to the window again to find that Zsasz was coldly greeting Erika, Sean, Phebe, and Dinah. Zsasz wasn’t exactly a warm, cuddly teddy bear kind of person that you would like to have greet your guests for your wedding, but he was all we had. Erika looked absolutely terrified of Zsasz until she looked up towards my window and smiled. Everyone followed her gaze and waved at me. I returned the favor while Erika ran into the cottage to come see me.

Erika came running up the steps as fast as she could and turned into the bedroom with a loud, excited scream. I flinched back slightly but maintained the smile on my face for her. “Oh, hun, you look  _ stunning _ ! Look at that dress!”

“Hi, Erika.”

Erika ran over and kissed both of my cheeks like we were  _ those _ kinds of friends. I let it slide because it was Erika, afterall, and she was one of my only friends. Though she could sometimes be a tad dramatic and loud, she was the closest thing I had to a best friend.

“I’m so jealous. Really. This place is adorable, Mor! It’s perfect for a quiet and quaint wedding.”

“Thanks…”

“Are you excited?” I couldn’t even answer her before she moved on. “You know, it’s never too late. I’ll marry him for you.”

“Wouldn’t you like that,” I teased.

“Erika! Stop harassing the bride so that she can get married, already!” Sean called from the living room. It was like he had a sixth sense for when Erika was trying to sneak Roman out from under my nose. 

Erika started ordering herself to do things, since she knew I wouldn’t give her anything to do. She was insisting on being a part of the ceremony one way or another— and since Roman and I decided against groomsmen and bridesmaids, Erika picked up the wedding bands sitting on a ring pillow on the desk and claimed them as her job. She also grabbed my bouquet and headed to the door, trying to lure me out of the bedroom.

It was then that I realized just how much I was shaking. It was absolutely stupid how nervous I was. I didn’t get nervous… Not like this, at least. Not to this extent. But as Erika enticed me downstairs with the rings and my bouquet, it started to really dawn on me what was happening and how fucking crazy it all was. I mean, I was marrying Roman Sionis, and Victor fucking Zsasz was ordaining it. I wouldn’t even believe me if I weren’t the one getting married, because it just sounded so ridiculous. But maybe that was a good thing. My life with Roman was anything but normal. Being married to him was sure to be a rollercoaster, so why not start off with the weirdest wedding possible?

_ Fuck it. _ I decided.  _ Fuck it.  _ I walked down the stairs to find Erika waiting in the yellow painted entryway. She handed me the flowers when my feet were planted on the ground floor and we walked together through the cottage towards the backdoor in the kitchen. It wasn’t exactly the most romantic place for my epic bridal entry, but it was the only way into the backyard where we were holding the ceremony.

Erika walked out before me to let everyone know I was ready and I took in one last deep breath in order to muster all of the courage I had left. I shook off my nerves and before I could stop myself or retreat back upstairs to the bedroom, I took my first step outside.

My heel made a clacking sound as it hit the cobblestone for the first time, and Dinah started singing mine and Roman’s favorite song. I was staring down at my feet as I took another step, fearing with every passing second that I was going to trip and fall on my face like an idiot.  _ Jesus, Mor… Get it together.  _ I took another step and felt myself wobble.  _ Wow, _ my thoughts groaned. I probably looked drunk. I wished I was drunk.

I took another step, and this time I mustered the courage to look up at Roman, standing all the way down at the opposite end of the cobblestone path with Zsasz, both dressed to a T, and grinning like a pair of idiots. But even as they tried not to laugh at my nervous steps, I couldn’t help but find myself falling into Roman’s bright blue eyes again, even from so far away. The more I stared into his eyes, the less I thought about my steps, and in turn wobbled less. I suddenly remembered why I was there and why I wanted this so badly. I remembered that there was no reason to be terrified or nervous. There was just me and Roman. Nothing else mattered.

And that was what got me down the aisle without falling over.

Roman took my hand after I handed the bouquet over to Erika, and he led me to stand before him, like he knew my mind was a wreck and my feet weren’t cooperating. 

“We all know why we’re here, so let’s just do it. We’re gathered here today,” Zsasz started, “for, what I assume, is the most untraditional wedding any of us will ever attend. Blah, blah, bl—”

Roman elbowed his friend, a nudge for a little more respect. Zsasz could be a douchebag, but this was still a wedding.  _ Have a modicum of respect, Zsasz. _

Zsasz rolled his eyes before looking down at his notes for help, then started droning what he had written down. Then, he looked back up, “Apparently Roman has his own vows he wants to read. So… do that.”

Like I said, Zsasz ordaining our wedding was just a set up for the world’s worst wedding, but I still couldn’t help but laugh. This was so  _ us _ , if that makes any sense. Who else would have a wedding this informal and still find it amusing? It was utterly perfect, actually.

Roman pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, which caught me off guard. When did he do this? I didn’t prepare anything… I felt bad. How did I not do something for him? “When did you manage this?” I whispered, wondering if we had made a deal to do this and I just forgot or didn’t understand. 

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” he whispered back. My breath hitched. I fell asleep so quickly, I only assumed— “Morgana Wreef, you came into my life when I least expected that something as wild and exhilarating as your love could be in my life. Somehow, some way, we instantly connected in a way that I still can’t fully comprehend. We have been through hell and back together, but it was always worth it because I had you, and because I fought for you. Everything we’ve endured has led us to this exact moment, and I wouldn’t have it any other way…” He took my hands in his. “So, I want to say this: I vow to endlessly love you and all of your demons. I vow to love every part of you forever and always until the day I die. And I vow to see you and understand you, no matter what.”

My hands squeezed his gently. “I love you,” I mouthed to him as he anxiously tucked the paper away. He winked at me before taking my hands again. Zsasz stared at me, a look that asked if I had anything prepared, too. I felt like if I said no, I’d look like a total fraud or like I was ungrateful… Saying yes wasn’t exactly ideal, either, since I didn’t have anything written out, but it was better than nothing. “I, um, I didn’t prepare anything,” I admitted with red cheeks, looking at my friends out of the corner of my eye. “But, um…”  _ Jesus, I’m too nervous. _ My feet shuffled beneath me, even though I was begging my restless body to just stand still for one moment so that I could just get a single thought out. “When Roman and I started dating, I told him that I was fine with things not being traditional between us. Things were moving so fast and in the most unconventional of ways, but that was alright because somehow I knew that Roman Sionis was the one. I know that, no matter what, we see and understand each other in ways that the rest of the world can never comprehend. People tend to think that being unconventional is a bad thing, but with me and Roman, that’s not the case. It’s exciting and unique to be different. Roman taught me that. He also taught me that, no matter what, the demons we have swirling in us don’t make us bad people. They make us great. Meeting Roman taught me a lot about self love and how to love someone else. There’s no one else in this world or the next that I’d rather devote my every waking moment to than Roman Sionis. I decided that a long time ago, but I think today it’s finally safe to say it outloud,” I laughed, and everyone else giggled with me. “I love you, Roman Sionis, more than words can even express… and I vow to continue loving you just as fiercely as I do now, in this moment, for the rest of our lives. I vow to never forget everything you’ve shown me, taught me, and given me. I vow to always push back because I know you secretly love the fact that you can’t control this one rose.” Roman laughed. “But I also vow to stand by your side against whatever thorn we may face. And I vow to always see you and understand you, no matter what…”

Roman took in a deep breath and let out a sigh with a smile, “Wow, that was much better than mine.”

“It’s not a competition,” I rolled my eyes and smiled back.

“Do you two finally want to get married or not?” Zsasz asked bitterly, like he had better places to be and things of more importance to do. When neither Roman and I said anything else, he looked back down at his notes again and started reading flatly, “Do you, Roman Beauvais Sionis, take Morgana Taylor Wreef, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to share your life openly, standing with her in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love forever more?”

“I do,” Roman said.

“Do you, Morgana Taylor Wreef, take Roman Beauvais Sionis, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to share your life openly, standing with him in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love forever more?”

I nodded, “I do.”

“Alright, now for the fun part,” Zsasz said, gesturing to Erika for the rings. She eagerly took a step forward and handed over the rings before returning to her post next to her friends. “Repeat after me, Roman,” Zsasz whispered, giving my wedding ring to him.

Roman nodded and listened to Zsasz, echoing his words for me as he slid the wedding band on my finger, “I give you this ring to wear as a symbol of my enduring love, my eternal faith, and my undying devotion. It is an outward reminder of our inner unity.”

Zsasz smiled, “Your turn, Mor.”

I took Roman’s wedding band between my pointer finger and thumb while repeating the words, “I give you this ring as a symbol of our love. Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be a faithful partner to you.”

“Congrats, you’re officially married,” Zsasz said plainly. “You may kiss the bride.”

Roman and I both reached for each other’s face with our hands and kissed passionately. Our friends clapped for us, and Dinah even whistled loudly. I smiled against Roman’s lips, but we didn’t part. We stayed embraced in each other’s arms, kissing for the first time as husband and wife. Mr. and Mrs. Sionis. Finally. One name, one love, one family. That was all I wanted, and I finally had it… and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

“I love you,” I whispered just loud enough for him to hear— and only him. That was the first time I said it to him as Mrs. Sionis, and I wanted him to be the only one to know it. I wanted him to share that with me.

Roman caught on, and just as quietly whispered, “I love you.” We kissed again until Zsasz finally split us apart. I giggled at the lipstick on Roman’s face before taking my thumb and dragging it along his lips to get the pigment off. He countered my attempts by kissing my thumb again and again. “I love you, Morgana Sionis.” The words ran through me, just like the first time he ever told me he loved me. I felt the vibrations echo through me and I nearly melted in his arms. He reached down and behind me to pick me up bridal style— of course.

Dinah whistled again as Roman carried me back down the cobblestone path. I was just secretly thankful that I didn’t have to walk back into the house and make a fool of myself again. Then, once we were inside, Roman set me on my feet in the green living room. We both fell on the old green, plastic covered couch and sighed. I stared up at the ceiling to keep my mind from spinning. 

“That just happened,” I laughed.

Roman nodded beside me, also staring up, “Yeah. That just happened.”

I held my hand out to the side for him, and he took it. “Congrats, Mr. Sionis.”

“Congratulations, Mrs. Sionis.”


	2. Part One

Utilizing Our Demons. A Roman Sionis Fanfiction Novel.

Roman Sionis x Morgana “Mor” Wreef (OC).

Part One. The Devils’s City.

Five Chapters. Warnings of cussing, descriptions of violence, gore, murder, and sex.


	3. Meet the Devils

One year, four months, one week, and two days. That was how long Roman and I had been married before Maroni started getting antsy about the Keo family. He wasn’t too happy that Mr. Keo and the Golden Lions were slowly starting to overshadow the Maroni family business, so he asked us to step in. He wanted us to negotiate new business with the Golden Lions, which would in turn be giving the Golden Lions an indirect alliance with the Maroni’s. The Golden Lions and the Maroni family had a bad history behind them, and even though there was bad blood between Roman and Mr. Keo, we were still more likely to get through to him.

Roman wanted to fight Salvatore on the offer because of what Mr. Keo did to him, but I stepped in and said I’d handle it if it would come to that. Maroni was impressed, but Roman was biting his tongue at the fact that I was going over his head with this. I knew what Keo had done to Roman, he told me when we first met— which felt like a millennia ago. I knew that Roman still felt the sting of Keo’s actions, but we needed to do this. Not only was it good for our alliance with the Maroni family, but it would also help us in the scheme of things when it came to us one day ruling Gotham.

Being the sole king and queen of Gotham’s underground was our dream. We both knew that it was possible, but only if we were backed by the strongest crime bosses of Gotham. We had the Maroni’s, things were in the works with Tiger Shark, and the icing on top would be having the Golden Lions in our back pocket. That was how I convinced Roman to help Salvatore Maroni.

Three days after Salvatore met with us about the Golden Lions, Zsasz and I were down in the club during the afternoon trying to figure out everything we could offer to the Golden Lions before our approaching meeting that evening. Roman wanted to just wing it and cross his fingers that everything would work out, but Zsasz and I couldn’t risk being that nonchalant about this. We had to be prepared as much as possible.

It was so odd to think about how the tides had turned, because when I had first met Roman, I was more of the laid back one, and he was the strict, controlling business man. Roman used to think he had to control everything, and he did, up until me. When I came into his life, he couldn’t control me, and things spiraled from there. Now, I was spearheading everything with Zsasz as much as we could.

In retrospect, Zsasz and I were never really close before Roman and I got married. Sure, there were times that we had opened up to each other— hell, we very nearly even slept together a few times— but we were never the best of friends. That was until Roman spiraled and we had to team up to try to fix it. At first, he blamed me, which I understood. But then we both realized that we were stronger together, and we both just wanted the same thing: for Roman to get his shit together.

The first few steps were me trying to get Roman back into the habit of actively running his businesses. When he’d roll his eyes and turn around at the idea, I’d lure him in with… well, the idea of fucking me into the mattress. After that, when we would be lying in bed together, I’d bring it up again, and this time he would listen. Slowly, he started working more on keeping The Black Mask Club alive, but he still refused to work on this Keo thing. He absolutely despised the idea, but I made him promise that he wouldn’t sabotage it. Even if he didn’t like it, we didn’t have much of a choice. Our alliance with the Maroni’s was more of a “you do me a favor, and I do you a favor.” And we still owed Maroni two favors.

So that afternoon, just before we were set to open for the night, Zsasz and I were reviewing every paper, every bill, every deal, etc. and considering every option. Realistically, we were very rich. Like, so rich that we’d be comfortable for three lifetimes, but so was the Keo family. In fact, the Keo family was rich enough for twelve lifetimes. Compared to all of the other mob bosses in town, we were child’s play. So, money wasn’t exactly something we could offer the Golden Lions. But we had one better… The Golden Lions were notorious in Gotham City. Every cop and criminal knew who they were, so it wasn’t like they could just wander around Gotham doing anything less than legal without being watched. Roman and I, though… Well, we weren’t on anyone’s scent yet, unless cops and criminals were looking for a nice club for a night. We liked to keep our cards close to our chest, and as paying off. Finally.

Roman came down to the club when Zsasz and I were both nose deep in papers, highlighting lines and writing notes. I felt like a damn secretary again… But at least my boss this time around was  _ very hot _ . I was getting distracted again.  _ Jesus, Sionis, I’m trying to focus here.  _ I stared at him and winked quickly when we made eye contact. He smiled lightly while pouring himself a bourbon.

Zsasz tapped the paper in front of me with the back of his pen to get my attention and I kicked his shin under the table. He kicked me back and I suppressed a smile, “You’re just being more distracting than he was,” I whispered. Zsasz rolled his eyes at me. “Child.”

Roman watched us from the bar as he put ice in his drink. He cleared his throat to bring the attention to him, “Want anything?”

I shook my head, “I’m good, babe.”

“Victor?”

Zsasz looked up, “No thanks, boss.”

“That’s not what I meant. Can I talk to you  _ privately _ ?”

“Ooh,” I teased as Zsasz shuffled around the booth to walk over to Roman, “someone’s in trouble.”

Roman pulled at Zsasz’s arm when he was close enough, and they spun around so that their backs were to me. I sighed and went back to my work, not necessarily concerned with whatever they were talking about. I knew that either of them would tell me what they were talking about eventually, so eavesdropping wasn’t needed.

At one point, I heard Roman’s voice raise to a volume slightly higher than either of them had anticipated, but Zsasz held his ground, of course. I looked up to see if I could decipher what they were possibly arguing about, but they immediately returned to whispering. Then, after another minute or so, I heard Zsasz apologize half-heartedly while walking away from the bar and Roman. He went straight past me, leaving all of the papers we had been working on for me to sort through. 

When Roman turned around, I squinted at him and tilted my head, a silent request for answers. As Zsasz stormed out of the club to go for a drive in the rain, I heard the loud crack of thunder.  _ Even the sky is upset.  _ Roman sat next to me with his drink in hand. He draped one arm over my shoulders and relaxed in his seat.

I bounced my left shoulder to catch his attention again, “What was that?”

“Nothing.”

I elbowed his side gently, “Don’t fuck with me like that, Roman Sionis.”

Roman held his side playfully like I had fucking shot him or something, “As you say, Morgana Sionis.” I glared at him. He was trying to be funny but I wanted to know why he pissed off Zsasz when we were in the middle of doing work. “Fine. I told him to stop flirting and then we got into an argument about it. He defends that he wasn’t, but I know what I saw.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Roman,” I wiggled out from under his arm. “Zsasz and I weren’t fucking flirting.” I started gathering up all of our papers into a large stack while Roman watched me.

“So, what, now you’re mad at me, too?”

I nodded, “Yeah, ‘cause you’re acting like a fucking idiot, Roman. You don’t get jealous of Zsasz— you never have. You would have let me fuck him on three seperate occasions, remember that?” Roman slouched his shoulders. “Just tell me the truth about what’s going on because Zsasz and I have let this go on for far too long.” I stopped packing up my things to look at him and listen to him.  _ Let me see you, Roman Sionis.  _

“I’m just nervous about this Keo thing.”

“Why?”

Roman took a sip of his bourbon before rolling the base of the glass on the table, “Because I don’t want him to fuck us over again.” I recalled the story of what happened between them all those years ago. Roman was just trying to get his start as his own man with Mr. Keo’s help, but he was betrayed and his father found out, and then he was shunned by his family. “People are just expecting me to be more than I am.”

“Roman, I’ve seen the real you. You’ve shown me who you want to be and who you can be. You were happy being who you were before Maroni…” I finally put it together: “Is that the problem?”

Roman took my hands like he always did when he wanted my attention, “I just don’t want to get screwed over again because it’s more than just me now. There’s more at stake, there’s more to lose.”

“Zsasz and I are capable of protecting ourselves.” I leaned towards him, “How about this, if things go to shit with Keo tonight, we handle it the only way we know how,” I whispered in his ear. He smiled and kissed my neck. “But you need to apologize to Zsasz first,” I leaned back, “because jealousy is not a good look on you, Mr. Sionis.”

“You’re one to talk, Mrs. Sionis.”

“Strangers hitting on us is one thing. This is Zsasz, baby. We’re just friends, okay.”

Roman pulled me into his lap, “I’m sorry. I was just stressed.” His hands started finding their way under my shirt, “Maybe we can let off some steam.”

I pulled his hands away and kissed his knuckles, “You wish,” I teased, rolling my hips over him. He whined as I slid off his lap and took my papers to another booth across the club so that he couldn’t distract me.

I stretched out in the booth, putting my feet up on the seat, and leaning back against the corner. Roman watched from a distance, entertaining himself with his drink and the image of me working on the things he should have been working on. And the fact that Zsasz ditched me to throw a hissy fit wasn’t helping the workload, either. I gave myself a mental note to give him shit for that later.

Zsasz came back, drenched head to toe by the pouring rain outside, just before we were set to open the club up for the night. He stormed past us and headed up to the penthouse to steal clothes from Roman. Roman and I exchanged a glance, mine insisting that they make up, while his said: “Make me.” I rolled my eyes at him and went back to my work, knowing that we had a spare few minutes to let Zsasz change before going up ourselves and getting ready.

When Marco and Dinah both came in for their shifts, Roman and I took our leave up to the penthouse, too. As we turned the corner into the living room upstairs, we spotted Zsasz dressed in dry clothes and drying his short white hair with a towel. He made awkward eye contact with Roman, but then he smiled at me.  _ At least I didn’t get dragged into their pissing contest _ . I didn’t want to be put in the middle of Roman Sionis and Victor Zsasz. That wasn’t fair to me— or them, for that matter. They both knew who I would choose, and it wasn’t not because of something Zsasz can control. I’d pick Roman every time simply because he was  _ the one _ .

All of us were quiet as Roman and I went to our bedroom to get dressed for the night. I closed the door behind us and followed him to the wardrobes on the right side of the room. He picked out a blue suede suit with a black shirt underneath, while I picked out a pink shirt with black button up, high waisted, flared pants. We kept our backs turned to each other as I put on my pink lingerie set and he put on his shirt. 

“You need to apologize to him sooner than later,” I told Roman quietly.

“I get it, Mor,” he hissed, buttoning up his suit jacket. “‘Kay?”

I nodded and sat on the edge of the bed as he handed me my tall black heels. As I put them on, he grabbed a pair of red sunglasses from a drawer then put on his black gloves. “I love you,” I whispered.

Roman leaned over and kissed the top of my head, “I love you, too, baby. I’m sorry for being horrible recently. I just need to sort out the demons that have gotten out of control and then I’m all yours, ‘kay? How about we go to the cottage this weekend?”

“I have to meet with Tiger Shark,” I told him as he helped me to my feet.

“Tiger Shark isn’t your husband, and your husband is asking you to take some time off.”

“Well, when my husband gets his demons in order and I can afford to drop all of the work that he was supposed to do, I’ll consider it.”

“I knew it, you  _ are _ mad at me—”

“Boss, people are coming in!” Zsasz called from outside the bedroom.

Roman and I stared at each other and I tried to hold my ground. I wasn’t really upset with him, but he had sure been acting like a dickhead, and he needed to know it. But of all days for us to confront this, it had to be the day that we were meeting with Mr. Keo.  _ Shit _ .

He silently handed me my black gloves before leaving with Zsasz. I sighed and sat back down on the bed, shaking my head at myself. “You’re such an idiot, Mor,” I whispered to myself. “You could have just said that you’ll move your meeting with Tiger Shark and everything would have been fine.”

_ Marriage is hard. _ That was what I had decided that night. Roman and I hardly ever fought— especially with something as petty as this. For the most part, we were the perfect couple. We enjoyed each other’s company all day, every day; we understood each other better than anyone else, and we loved each other more than anyone else. We didn’t  _ need _ to fight, because we were capable of just talking out our issues and moving on. But, recently, with Roman’s new erratic behavior and my new controlling behavior, I think we were starting to forget who we really were.

_ Who are we? Roman and Mor Sionis. We’re the greatest couple in Gotham. We’re the future queen and king of Gotham. _

That was great and all, but who were we really? What was our dynamic? How did we fall so in love? Truthfully, I loved how controlling and demanding Roman was when we first met. It was one of the things that originally enticed me about him. I loved the way he could control everything in our lives, but he couldn’t quite control me— though that never stopped him from trying. I loved that we would do anything for each other. I loved that he loved me even though I had so much shitty baggage and was the craziest bitch on planet Earth. I loved how we saw each other and didn’t even need to say anything to know how we felt about each other.

What happened to that? What happened to us that we lost our way and our dynamic? When did the honeymoon period end? Most importantly, how was I supposed to get it back? It wasn’t like I didn’t still feel all of those things for and about Roman. I did— more than ever, I’d argue. But there was something just  _ wrong _ and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

_ Maybe it’s me? Maybe he doesn’t love me anymore?  _ “Jesus, Mor, don’t think like that.”

“It has nothing to do with you,” someone said from the doorway. I jumped out of my skin and looked up. My body relaxed when I saw Zsasz leaning against the door frame. “I mean, of course it has something to do with you, it always does. But you’re not the problem.”

“How did you know—”

“He’ll tell you about it someday soon, but just know that he’s under a lot of pressure from other things from a time when you weren’t around. Those demons he needs to get in order? Yeah, well, they’re old as fuck demons. Decades old demons that have resurfaced. Right now they’re destructive, but this thing that’s going on will pay off in the end, trust me. Just hold on a little longer, little rose.”

“I feel like shit, Zsasz. I’ve been treating him like shit.”

“No worse than he’s been doing to you. I’ve told you this before, but the two of you have your entire lives to figure your shit out. So don’t worry, this bump in the road won’t last long.”

I put on my gloves and stood again, “I’m sorry that he yelled at you.”

“He’s an asshole, what can I say? But he’s ours, so… we gotta love him, right?”

I chuckled, “Right.”

“Come on, little rose,” he beckoned me towards the exit, and I followed him.

We went downstairs to find Roman already sitting in our booth, calculating how busy the night could end up being. Now it was just a waiting game for a bit until Mr. Keo would appear. We had set a time to meet with him early in the night when things are still…  _ quiet _ … around The Black Mask Club, but Roman told me that Mr. Keo operated on his own time, so who knew when he would magically appear.

“I’m sick of fighting,” I told Roman as I sat down beside him. Zsasz sat on the opposite end of the booth and dumped the bowl of nuts out so that he could mess with them while slowly snacking on them. “Bourbon or Scotch?”

“Bourbon, baby. Thanks.”

I turned around and gestured to Marco at the bar that we just wanted our usuals. He nodded back to show that he saw me before hurrying to get the drinks ready. I spun back around and slumped down in my seat. “Something’s off, and I don’t know what it is exactly. I know that you’re keeping some secret from me, and I’m not going to pry just yet, but if we keep acting like this because of it, you have to promise to tell me the truth, Roman. We can’t keep fighting like children. We’re past that. So just promise me you’ll tell me the truth if this keeps spiraling out of control.”

Roman reached over the table for one of the peanuts Zsasz was playing with and he ate it. “‘Kay, baby.”

One of the waitresses with a tray circling her hips like a hula hoop dropped off our drinks silently before walking off. I handed Roman his bourbon and he wrapped his free arm around my waist. I tucked up against his side while I sipped my mojito with extra mint. Zsasz looked up from his peanuts and saw Mr. Keo and his bodyguard walking in. Him and Roman shared a look before he scurried off. 

“I’ll be good, I promise,” Roman whispered against my hair while setting his drink down before untangling us and standing from the booth to greet Mr. Keo. They smiled widely at each other and hugged like old friends would, yet I could sense the uneasy tension. When they parted, Mr. Keo spotted me and smiled again. “Mr. Keo, may I introduce you to my wife, Mor Sionis.”

Mr. Keo held out his hand for mine, and I obliged him. He took my hand and kissed the top of it gently, “I’ve heard of your beauty, Mrs. Sionis, but I must admit that the rumors sell you short.”

I forced a smile and let my hand gently fall back into my lap as the two men took a seat in the booth. Meanwhile, Zsasz was still M.I.A and Keo’s bodyguard was standing behind our booth, keeping a close eye on us. Roman returned to my side, but he kept his hands to himself, and I returned the favor. I sat up tall for Mr. Keo and adjusted the wrinkles in my shirt.

Roman snapped his fingers for one of the waitresses while asking Mr. Keo what he would like from the bar, “Or perhaps some snacks?”

Mr. Keo chuckled and held up a hand that implied he was fine without anything to eat, “Just a scotch, please.”

“A scotch for our guest of honor, Katerina,” Roman said to the waitress. Dressed in her nude body suit with the images of black gloves covering her tits and vagina, she went to the bar to tell Marco the order. Meanwhile, Dinah was getting up on stage to start her set, and I knew what was coming before Roman could even open his mouth, “That is Ms. Dinah Lance. She has the most  _ gorgeous _ voice you will ever hear, I promise you that. You’ll have to let me know what you think of her after her set, Mr. Keo.”

I mentally rolled my eyes. Roman always liked to brag about his little songbird. Don’t get me wrong, I had nothing against Dinah. She was always nice to me, and I returned the favor. As women with a voice in The Black Mask Club, we had to stick up for each other. But the amount of times I had heard Roman go on and on about her was starting to bore me.

While Roman started sweet talking Mr. Keo, I sat back and watched. Mr. Keo was the kind of guy that would rather be seen and never heard, and I understood that when I signed up to do this meeting; but, Jesus, it was impossible to not step in and insist we start talking shop. We all knew why we were having this meeting, and I didn’t understand the point of dancing around it. I didn’t give a shit about all of these questions Roman was asking and all of the answers Keo was giving.

At some point, they started talking about family. Mr. Keo asked if we had any children, and I felt myself tense up so much I swear I had been frozen in ice for decades. I wanted kids, Roman knew that. And he wanted whatever I wanted. But there’s a big difference between wanting a kid and being ready for a kid— and Roman and I weren’t prepared by any means. I mean, if he would have asked me then and there if I wanted to have a kid, I would have jumped his bones and we would have made it happen… but he was holding back, and I understood why.  _ He has to get his demons in order. And maybe I should do the same with mine _ .

“It’s just us for now,” Roman answered as politely as he could, finally putting his arm around my waist again to comfort me. He sensed that the question had made me uncomfortable, and he understood exactly why. “And you?”

Mr. Keo dug into his pocket for his wallet. He pulled out a small picture and handed it to us, “My daughter. She’s the most precious thing to me in this world.” Roman showed me the picture. It was a graduation photo, with Mr. Keo’s daughter in a graduation cap and gown smiling for the camera as brightly as she could. “She’s headed for Harvard in the fall,” he continued proudly as we handed the picture back. He stuffed it back in his wallet then hid it in his pocket.

Roman and Mr. Keo continued their small talk while I tapped my foot impatiently and looked around the club some more for Zsasz. I didn’t understand where the hell he went. He was the one who went through all the papers with me— I needed him to be there with us, but he just got up and disappeared. He had a habit of doing that, it seemed. It was his special talent, I suppose.

“I must admit, I’m very impressed with the empire your family has built,” Roman complimented, trying to segway smoothly into business. My thoughts chuckled,  _ Good one, Sionis _ . “My wife and I can only imagine of one day achieving half of what your family has done.”  _ Ugh. _ “It’d be nice to have a few allies in our corner as we strive towards that goal.”

“Well, I hear that you have the Maroni’s already in your corner.”

_ Well, shit. It’s been lovely having you here, Mr. Keo. Let’s do it again sometime, shall we? _

Roman started to do some serious damage control in order to keep Keo’s attention, “It’s true, the Maroni family and the Sionis family have formed an alliance. But why not us, too? I’m not talking just any plain, old, superficial alliance, because what’s the point in that? No, we firmly believe in forming alliances that will bond over friendship and loyalty. There’s no point in jumping in head first unless everyone’s going to jump with us, right? We formed an alliance with the Maroni’s because they have something we want, and we have something they want. It’s as easy as that. So I say, why can’t we do the same? You and I have had a rocky past, yet here we are. I think that together we can accomplish things far better than  _ great _ .”

“What is it you’re exactly proposing, Mr. Sionis?”

“Loans, liquidity, laundering, and taking care of any  _ problems _ you may have,” I answered, because I was the one who figured out what we could afford, not Roman. The last offer was an added one which came with mine and Zsasz’s proclivity for torture, and Roman’s proclivity for watching us.

Roman laughed nervously after my impolite outburst. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Zsasz approach the booth, then he handed something off to Roman before taking post outside of our booth. Roman tried to continue with what I was saying, but in a nicer way, “The Golden Lions can’t just walk into Gotham National Bank to do those things without getting caught. But I can because the cops aren’t on my scent.” I looked carefully over my shoulder to share a glance with Zsasz. He gave me a look that said: “It should be you making this deal, not him.” I just rolled my eyes playfully at him and his lips slightly curled into a small smile before disappearing instantly. I could tell that he was still mad at Roman, and he would be until they sat down like big boys and apologized. “Everyone just thinks that I’m some playboy locked up in his magical club. And that’s okay. It’s an advantage. Those idiots down at the GCPD have no fucking clue what we’re capable of.”

“Everyone does talk about Mrs. Sionis’s…  _ talents _ … but, unfortunately, that’s not enough. With all due respect, Mr. and Mrs. Sionis, the Golden Lions have been a family-only business for generations. There’s a reason Salvatore Maroni and I don’t get along, and it’s because he keeps trying to dabble in my business when I’ve told him time and again that we’re family run. That will never change.”

Roman groaned, “Fuck him, then. You know, I’ve always said ‘fuck family’, and I mean it. My family is sitting right next to me because she’s all I have. But did my blood ever do anything for me? No. They didn’t do shit for me, so I found my own family. I think that’s what you need to do, Mr. Keo. Find your family outside of blood. I see us as being family outside of blood. Truly. I see us achieving something magnificent together.”

“Mr. Sionis, I don’t think you’re hearing what I’m saying—”

“This thing I’ve got hiding away for a rainy day— the thing we discussed before—”  _ What the fuck? _ “—it’s going to make me rich beyond comparison. It’s going to give me what I need to take over this city, not just the East End. Soon, Gotham City will be mine and we want you to be there with us when it happens. Wouldn’t you rather have the brag of saying you know the King of Gotham over the regret that you aren’t by my side?”

Mr. Keo chuckled, “Mr. Sionis, as I was saying, the Golden Lions have operated in Gotham City for over a hundred years— long before the Sionis or Maroni families came to town. We have no need for your protection— though, I’m flattered you’re willing to supply it irregardless.”

“And the business proposals?” I inquired.

“We’ve gotten this far without having to reach for such drastic measures, Mrs. Sionis. I’m sure we’ll be fine without your offer. I’ll be sure to call you if anything changes.”

_ Fuck. There goes that.  _ I knew it the second he gave the classic: “I’ll call you if anything changes” line that he had never once stopped to consider us as legitimate allies. He came to this meeting to humor us and ease Salvatore’s uneasiness, but he never wanted to listen. We were doomed from the start.  _ Asshole. _

Mr. Keo scooted out of the booth and stood before adjusting his suit. Roman’s hand fisted the fabric of my pants against my hip and his jaw clenched. Whatever resurfacing demons he had brewing in that head of his was starting to break out slowly, one crack at a time. I could see it as he tried to put on a brave smile and thank Mr. Keo for entertaining the idea.

Roman stood from the booth and shook Mr. Keo’s hand, “Why don’t you sleep on it? Then, how about we come down and meet that lovely family of yours? Get to talking with your daughter about Harvard.”

Mr. Keo chuckled slightly, “Sure, Mr. Sionis.” He turned to me, “Mrs. Sionis, again, a pleasure to finally meet you.”

_ Fuck you _ , I thought with a faux smile plastered to my face. He pushed past Roman’s shoulder and dodged around Zsasz, then headed to the exit with his bodyguard.  _ Motherfucking fuck _ . I sighed as I picked up my drink and turned my attention back to the stage as Dinah belted out another note. 

Roman’s face fell flat the minute Keo was out of sight, and I knew that he was thinking the same thing I was… We were utterly fucked. _Unless…_ _No._ Roman huffed and sat on the edge of the booth. My right hand tangled itself in his hair and he sighed heavily.

_ What are we going to do? That was our one shot. Without the Golden Lions, we’re practically fucked. Roman doesn’t exactly know that yet, but… Shit. Zsasz and I are going to have to tell him sooner than later. Fuck. _

After Roman pressed against my touch for comfort, he whispered that we had to make our first lap around the club. My eyes fell shut and I thought about he just needed to take a moment to think about everything before just moving on like nothing happened; but before I could tell him as much, he was already back up on his feet with a smile bright enough to bring the party to life.

I was going to join him, but Zsasz blocked my path, “What do you want to do?” he asked me.

I shrugged. Why did he think I had all the answers? Roman was always the one who made the decisions about this kind of thing because he knew the politics of it all. Roman had been in the underground game a decade longer than me, and he knew how to play better than anyone. Me? I was learning, but I liked that he made the smart choices and I just got to cut up anyone he told me to. If it were up to me, I would have had Zsasz and his guys follow Keo and kill him in a “car crash”, but that wasn’t the smart or political play. We’d be suspects before we could say “Gotham”.

Zsasz wanted me to have the answers only because Roman was slipping, but I still didn’t know enough about it to step in. We needed to play our cards just right, and the way to do that was to forget about the Golden Lions for now and move on to another pressing matter: Tiger Shark. My meeting with him was still set for tomorrow night, and I knew how to control a guy like him. Getting a deal with Tiger Shark would be a piece of cake. None of that excused what the Golden Lions did, though. Somehow, some way, some day, we’d let him know that he had fucked with us for the last time. He had fucked with Roman for the last time. If he ever thought I was going to let that go, Mr. Keo was sadly mistaken.

“You must be fucking joking,” Roman groaned as he sat back down in the booth, sitting across from me rather than at my side since Zsasz was still standing in front of me. I raised a brow at my husband and his frustration. “Harley fucking Quinn just walked in.”

“Oh, god, kill me now,” I whined.

“Joker’s not around,” Zsasz noted, which put me at ease, I suppose.

Joker and Harley were always the worst patrons at The Black Mask Club, but I had never seen how Harley was without Joker. Normally, she was always at her boyfriend’s side and under his control. If he wanted something, she’d give it to him. If he told her to do something, she’d do it. She was more of a lap dog than a partner, but it worked for them, and I couldn’t judge them for that.

“As long as she keeps to herself, we won’t have a problem,” Roman whispered. I chuckled at his little sliver of hope that Harley Quinn wouldn’t act like a total savage for one night. Without Joker around, she was likely to be a loose canon. The crowd around Harley’s table was starting to get a little too loud as Harley climbed up on one of the poles between the booths. “Can we just call it a night early, Morgana?” I shook my head, still watching Harley as she danced around the pole and humped it. “Come on, Zsasz can look after things for the night—”

After Harley accidentally spilled her drink on our driver and his date ran away, he managed to let the dumbest shit leave his mouth: “I said, get the fuck down from there, you dumb slut.” And, Harley being Harley, shrugged with a smile and jumped on his legs, which were propped up on the table in front of them. Our driver’s legs broke as Harley sat on them forcefully. The music stopped abruptly as he cried out in pain, “You broke my fucking legs!”

Harley laughed maniacally, “Boo-hoo, bad man,” she booped his nose playfully and stood up, looking around the quiet and shocked crowd for some kind of approval or applause. Roman turned his gaze to see what was happening and his face fell flat again.  _ So much for Harley keeping to herself. _

No one said or did anything except for Roman. When he stood up again with a polite smile that begged the crowd to spring to life again, he said, “It’s not a party without a little drama, am I right?” Roman pointed to Dinah on the stage to continue singing, “Let’s keep this party going! Shots for everyone— on the house!” The lights and the music turned back on, then the crowd cheered and went back to their business like nothing had happened. Roman nodded a signal to Zsasz before him and his men collected the driver and carried him out of the club. “What the fuck just happened?”

“Our driver offended Harley Quinn.”

“What did he say or do?”

“Well, for starters, he told her what to do— which is a big no-no, unless you’re the Joker— and then he called her a ‘dumb slut’. So…” I picked up my drink again and took a sip. Roman sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before pushing up his glasses. “Let’s go do some damage control, then.” I moved out of the booth and linked my arm with Roman’s before the two of us started towards Harley Quinn. She had stolen the driver’s drink after breaking his legs and before stealing his spot on the couch. Roman and I plastered inviting smiles to our face as we turned to face Harley.

“Ms. Quinn,” Roman greeted her.

“Oh, Romy! You’re here! Mind getting me something more  _ me _ to drink?” Harley asked, looking up at us with innocent eyes.

“Of course. But, Ms. Quinn, that was my driver whose legs you just stomped on.”

Harley pouted her lips and brought out her puppy dog eyes that she liked to use on Joker when she wanted his attention, “Oopsie. Sorry, Romy.” God, how Roman hated to be called Romy, especially by Harley. It was his worst pet peeve, if you asked me.

“No matter. Mor tells me it was his fault, anyhow. Consider him fired.”

“Consider me grateful, especially since I know that you don’t like me.”

“Will your inamorato be joining us this evening?”

Harley shook her head with a smile, “Not tonight, Romy. It’s a girl’s night!”

“Well, do enjoy yourself this evening, Ms. Quinn. Be sure to let Marco know if you need anything at the bar. And give the Joker my best, won’t you?”

“Of course, Romy.” Harley suddenly gasped and widened her eyes at a sudden thought or realization.  _ Oh, here we go. _ “I just had the  _ best _ idea, Romy! Since it’s a girl’s night, why doesn’t Mor join me for a few drinks?”

I raised a brow and tried not to chuckle, “Me? Oh, no. I’m fine—”

“She would love to,” Roman answered for me before I could finish my denial. I immediately glared at him,  _ We just agreed to not fight anymore, and here you are, trying to stir up another fight. What the fuck are you thinking, Roman? _ “You ladies have a fun night. I’ll be around if you need anything else.” Roman unhooked his arm from mine and led me to sit down next to Harley Quinn.

I crossed my arms with an obvious pout in order to protest this. I knew that Roman was scared shitless of the Joker and Harley Quinn, just like everyone else in Gotham was. Except for me. I got to sit down with the almighty Joker, and while he did scare me at first, that was only because Roman was freaking me out. But, in reality, Joker wasn’t that scary. Sure, he could have me killed with just a flick of his wrist, but I could do the same to him, couldn’t I? We had the same resources and the same insanity. Roman’s fear of the Joker and Harley Quinn now was just about power. He knew that if he crossed them, he’d lose his chance of taking over Gotham, so he had to play by the rules. I just didn’t get why those rules included me having to club with Harley Quinn.

“We’re going to have so much fun!” Harley cheered as she threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. I didn’t hug back. I only groaned quietly and waited for her to release her grip. “We’re going to be the best of friends, I can tell.”  _ Oh, yay... _


	4. The Devils' Partner

I wasn’t one to whine about any old headache, but I swear to god, the headache I had that morning that came with the hangover was the worst thing in the world. Harley kept me up until the sun was rising with her drinking, dancing, and general antics. I think at some point we even did coka, but there was no way to be sure. Just as my headache was killing me, so was the fact that I could hardly remember a thing. The thought of being so blacked out drunk like that was enough cause for me to bury my face into the mattress and cover my head with the pillow when Roman tried to wake me up for the day.

I had probably only been asleep for a few hours and he was already trying to pull me out of bed for the day. He, of course, wasn’t doing it for naught… My meeting with Tiger Shark was supposed to be that afternoon. Which was why I was against being forced to drink with Harley in the first place. Somehow I knew that this would happen, and I wanted to be on top of my game. But that morning, I felt like utter shit.

Roman rubbed my back slowly, trying to coax me out from under my pillow so that he could see my “beautiful face”, as he put it. I groaned about hating him and tried to fall back asleep, but he wasn’t having it. As he told me what we needed to do to get ready for my meeting with Tiger Shark, he stole my pillow and threw it to the side so I couldn’t reach for it again. I sighed and flipped onto my back, slowly opening my eyes to see Roman grinning down at me like an idiot.

He pushed one of my messy curls out of my face, “You look like shit.”

“Oh,” I laughed, “really? I didn’t know. And whose fault is this?”

“Technically, yours. You didn’t have to do all that crazy shit last night.”

I immediately sat up straight at the realization that Roman could put all the pieces together for me since I remembered little to nothing. “Please tell me I wasn’t that bad.” Roman bit back a smile. I cringed, “Coke?” He nodded. “Fuck.”

“You and Harley were talking to the statues downstairs like they were real people… I don’t think you even noticed me once,” he chuckled. “Even when Harley left, you kept drinking.”

“Wait— she left? No. She was… she was… we were…” I could have sworn that she was with me until the sun was up, but maybe not? “I’m so confused,” I tucked my legs up to my chest and hid my face between my knees.

“I mean, she came back, Mor. It’s no big deal. There was just a solid hour or so when you could have escaped her girl’s night, like you wanted to, but you stayed down there and waited for her to come back.” He stood up in his burgundy robe, “Who knows, maybe the two of you will actually become friends,” he joked.

“Shut the fuck up, Roman.”

“I’ll have the chef make you some breakfast and coffee since we don’t have time for Sal’s now. Come on, Morgana!” he called with a sing-song voice as he walked out of the bedroom.

I groaned again and pushed myself out of bed. I really didn’t want to get ready for the day, but I knew that Roman would dress me himself if I refused any longer. While that wasn’t exactly the worst idea in the world, I decided to spare everyone the fuss and do it of my own volition.

The clock sitting on the bedside to my table was staring at me, and I realized that Roman was right about being short on time. I was supposed to meet with Tiger Shark in about two hours.  _ Shit. _ Really, that might sound like plenty of time to get breakfast at Sal’s and just lounge around, but that would be where you are wrong. After being so worried about the Keo meeting for so long, I didn’t really have time to think about what I was going to say at my meeting with Tiger Shark. And, yes, it was going to be just me leading the meeting. Roman had other things to attend to, so I offered to take up this task. Roman trusted me enough to do it because I knew everything about the businesses and more, but I was still really worried that I was going to fuck it up. With the Keo deal having fallen through, Maroni was going to be even more antsy for new allies— and so was Roman.

Without the Golden Lions  _ and _ the Maroni’s, it was going to be very hard to get ahead now. Tiger Shark was more or less a last resort, but now he was our only chance. AKA, if I fucked this up, we were utterly screwed. Isn’t that fun.

Roman looked me up and down with lustful eyes as I walked out of our bedroom and turned into the living room, which was coincidentally next to the dining table, which him and Zsasz were sitting at. Zsasz tried to keep his eyes to himself, but Roman was going out of his way to make sure I knew how he loved my black dress. It was one of my favorites, too, if we’re being honest. The sleeves were small caps, and the length only went to my knees, but what made it so… special… was the heart shaped cut out on my chest, just to show  _ enough _ cleavage, but not too much. 

“Morgana,” Roman started through gritted teeth like he was holding himself back from tearing off my dress, “is that the most  _ appropriate _ dress you could possibly wear for this meeting?”

“I could take it off,” I shrugged while reaching behind my back for the zipper. When the sleeves slid off my shoulders, Roman cleared his throat and hid his bulge with a napkin. He told me that the dress was fine and that I should just sit down for breakfast. I smiled at my little victory and took a seat at the dining table. Roman slid the eggs my direction while Zsasz got up to pour me a cup of coffee. “I’m thinking about offering Tiger Shark 12% and laundering.”

Roman nearly spit out his coffee, “12%, Morgana?” I nodded and took a bite of my toast. “Start with something lower. Try 8%. He might bargain up, but go no higher than 10%.”

“We can afford more than 15%, Roman. We can actually afford up to 30%.”

“It doesn’t matter what we can afford,” Roman bit. “Maroni owns 14%. If you give someone like Tiger Shark a percentage anywhere near what Maroni owns, he’ll get upset and we’ll have problems. Maroni is the big name in our operation, while Tiger Shark is the extra money on the side in case shit hits the fan. Offer 8% from us and accept nothing lower than 20% from him. You’ll do just fine if you follow those guidelines.”

“What makes you think he’ll take 8% and give us 20%? Why not just give us 8% in return.”

Roman sighed, “Think of it like this, Morgana: there are levels to this world— a hierarchy, if you will. But there are also two sects within. There’s the money and there’s the muscle. People like Maroni and Keo have both money and muscle, therefore they sit at the top of the chain in both sects. Guys like the Joker, Two-Face, Penguin, and Riddler are all muscle guys— and Joker is the king of that sect. We are in the money sect with the bottom feeders like Tiger Shark. We own the banks, therefore we rule the sect. With Maroni as our ally now, we’re moving into the muscle sect, which creates enemies. If we want to keep the money sect under our control as we make our power move, then Tiger Shark needs to be our ally, rather than our enemy. But he also needs us in the hopes of moving up the chain. We don’t  _ need _ him, but we need him to think that we do. So he will give you a large number in return for a small percentage.” He took another sip of his coffee. “Maybe I should go with you—”

“I’m fine, Roman. I just think 8% is too small and he won’t bite. We can’t afford to fuck this up after last night. Maroni will start to question us.”

“Don’t worry about that. Zsasz and I—”

The three of us jumped in our seats as there was a loud crash outside. If I didn’t know any better, I would have guessed that it was someone falling into or against the dumpster just below our window. Roman and I both went to investigate with our coffees in hand, because it was actually helping with my hangover and headache.

As we approached the south side window that overlooked the alley behind The Black Mask Club, we found Harley Quinn making out with one of the guys that had been in the club the night before. I chuckled, thinking to myself how that poor guy was so dead if Joker ever found out.

“I thought you said Harley left,” I told Roman as we both sipped our coffee.

He shrugged lightly, “I thought she did.”

A van backed down the alley towards Harley and the man. She still looked drunk and high— totally fucked up and out of her mind. But she was having fun, so who gave a shit. The van came to a stop and the driver got out. He approached Harley and her hookup and started helping the guy keep Harley up on her feet.

The men holding Harley were about to load her into their van and I thought to myself:  _ Finally, now we can be rid of her once and for all. _ And I smiled. Harley was always a pain in the ass, and now she was likely to be a  _ dead _ pain in the ass. I saw it as a win, truthfully.

“Holy shit,” I gasped when Dinah kicked one of the guys in the chest.

“Could that be our little Ms. Lance?” Roman questioned with a pleased smile.

Roman and I were certainly intrigued now. Before, the scene unfolding was quite boring. I mean, what was special about Harley Quinn getting kidnapped? But Roman’s little songbird proving to be more than she let on? Now that was certainly a show. And a show she did put on for us. Dinah really started beating the guys up all by herself. Who knew Dinah Lance had it in her.

Zsasz came over to the window to see what Roman and I were so fascinated with, and he seemed just as shocked as us. Seriously, Dinah was always a great singer, but where the hell did she learn to fight like that? I knew how to fight, but not like that. I guess it’s true when they say you learn something new every day.

“Baby,” I turned to look at Roman while he kept his eyes glued to the fight, “I think you found your new driver.”

Roman looked up at me and threw his arm around Zsasz, “What an amazing idea, Morgana.”

The three of us turned back to the fight to watch Dinah knock out the last guy and pick up Harley from the ground. I must admit that I was disappointed that Harley was still around, simply because it could have fixed many problems for us, but I admired Dinah for sticking her neck out for the current queen of Gotham. It just meant that I could trust her when I would become queen of the city.

Roman sent Zsasz downstairs to inform Dinah of her new promotion while he went to get dressed. I looked down at the alleyway again and saw Harley passed out in Dinah’s back seat… and I almost felt bad. I remembered what it was like when the False Face Society took me. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, but Harley Quinn. Why? She was never horrible to me. Sure, she was annoying and destructive as fuck, but she never wronged me. I felt so dumb for finding humor in Harley’s attempted kidnapping while the same thing had happened to me about two years ago.

I sighed and set my coffee down on the windowsill before hurrying downstairs. I pushed past the dark club and into the street alley. Zsasz was stepping over one of the unconscious men when I caught up to him. His eyes caught me walking to the car before he went to speak with Dinah about her promotion. Both of them watched me out of the corner of their eyes as I leaned over the door of Dinah’s convertible and flicked Harley’s cheek.

She opened her eyes and looked up at me with a drunk smile, “Mor!” she cheered. “Why are you upside down?”

“Because you’re drunk, Harley.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“You okay?” I asked as she closed her eyes again. She shrugged and nodded, rolling over onto her side in order to get more comfortable. “Why didn’t you leave earlier?”

“Because the nice man was buying me drinks.”

“He isn’t a nice man, Harley.”

“But he was buying me drinks.”

“That doesn’t make him good. Harley—” And then she started snoring. I rolled my eyes and stood up straight, making eye contact with Zsasz.

He decided to wrap things up with Dinah a little faster, “Be here tomorrow morning at 9AM sharp. Got it?” Dinah nodded. “Good. Mor, let’s go.” I stepped away from the car, watching as Dinah slid into the driver’s seat and started off onto the road. Harley was still passed out in the back seat, and I realized that she would be fine. She was a tough bitch like me. “What the fuck was that?” Zsasz hissed when we stepped inside the club.

I shrugged, “Nothing.”

“Rose, that wasn’t nothing. You and the Joker’s girl friends now or somethin’?”

“No, Zsasz,” I answered while we walked up the steps towards the penthouse, “I just know how scary it is when a bunch of guys try to throw you into the back of their car.” Zsasz stopped dead in his tracks and watched me continue up the final few steps.

The drive across the city took about twenty minutes. Tiger Shark lived and operated in a mansion on the West Side where all the other mobsters, like Maroni, lived. It was away from the family and straight money mansions, and everyone knew it. Even GCPD. But the community there liked to protect one another, because they all knew that if one went down, they all went down. So, it was practically the safest place in the world for crime bosses to live, actually.

It nearly surprised me, though, that Richard didn’t live there when he was still breathing. Sure, his money came from his family and Janus Co., but it also came from the businesses he had underground— and those were certainly worse, of course. But maybe Richard and Roman were smart to not live in that community. For the most part, Richard never got caught with his underground deals, as far as I knew. And as for me and Roman, we were still under the radar. But if we were to move into a place like this, we would have been dragged into a courtroom faster than we could say “Gotham”.

During the drive, Zsasz kept trying to go over the deal with me like I was a little kid, but I kept ignoring and dismissing him. Talking about it any longer than necessary was only making me nervous, and I knew that I could do this without rehearsing it a thousand times. I could have done the Keo thing on my own— and perhaps it would have gone to plan. Even Zsasz, during that meeting, looked at me to tell me that I should have been leading that meeting. So I knew that him prodding me with rehearsals probably had something to do with an order Roman gave him. Roman wanted this meeting to go his way, but I knew that I could do better. I knew that this meeting was my chance to show Roman that I could do this on my own— that I didn’t need a babysitter like Zsasz hovering around all the time.

As we pulled up to Tiger Shark’s home, Zsasz took a minute to search the building for exits and for what the security system was like. Like most of the mansions in the community, Tiger Shark’s front lawn was crawling with armed guards, all wearing blood red neck gaiters to conceal their identities. I guess it was smart, but I didn’t really get the point of it overall.

Once Zsasz was satisfied with scoping out the house, we made our way out of the car, and the armed team in the car behind us also got out. Together, we approached the mansion and were met with a security team which was gathering outside the front door. They stood in our path and the leader stepped forward to tell us the rules of the house: One, no weapons inside the home, meaning our security team had to wait outside while Zsasz and I handed over my daggers and his guns. He, of course, wasn’t happy about this, but I told him to just do it and not cause any problems. Two, no discussing anything about Tiger Shark with anyone outside of this meeting. I subconsciously rolled my eyes because I knew there was no way they could keep track of that— yet I still agreed.

After Zsasz handed every single gun and knife hidden in his clothing, they let us into the house. Zsasz stayed close to me, but he kept his distance so as not to catch the eyes of the guards lining the walls. We were led into a large office on the second floor of the building, which I figured screwed over all of Zsasz’s emergency exit strategies. Though, I didn’t know why he needed them in the first place. Like Roman said, Tiger Shark needed us, so why would he kill us?

Tiger Shark was sitting in the office at a large white marble desk— yes,  _ marble. _ Why anyone would need a marble desk was beyond me. I thought it was a little ostentatious, but perhaps that was the point. Upon an initial glance, Tiger Shark looked like a very flamboyant kind of guy. He wore expensive designer suits, just like Roman, and he had decorated his home with the most expensive things money could buy, just like Maroni. The thing that set him apart from everyone else, though, was what laid at his side behind the desk.

I think I was the first one between Zsasz and I to notice Tiger Shark’s pet, because Zsasz seemed to keep his cool as we sat down across from our host. Meanwhile, I was trying to keep my shit together as I stared at the fucking albino tiger on the floor. Tiger Shark, even though he was wearing a red silk mask around his head, which went down past his nose, but not over his mouth, reached down to pet his tiger. It woke up slowly and pressed lovingly against his touch while purring.

“You are in the presence of Tiger Shark,” one of the guards standing behind him stated. “He is the King of the Seas from Bludhaven to Port of Wenzhou. He has agreed to meet with under the terms that you consented to before entering his home. This meeting shall only last one hour, and it will not end any later than that. If at any point you need to leave this room, a guard will escort you. Any questions?”

While Zsasz and I stayed silent, the tiger got up to circle around the desk, brushing against my legs, before laying down on a large mattress that could only be referred to as a very large dog bed. It immediately fell back asleep and Tiger Shark returned to focusing on us like he was waiting for  _ us _ to start the meeting.

“Um,” I looked at Zsasz for back up since I was so unsure of what was going on since the whole evil introduction speech caught me off guard. Not to mention the tiger could wake up again at any point and just pounce on us. But that wasn’t why we were there. I just had to keep my eye on the prize and have this meeting go well. “Thank you for having us. I’m glad that we could make this work.” Zsasz cleared his throat and shuffled in his seat, and I could tell that I was being awkward. “I suppose we can just get to it, then,” I said when Tiger Shark and his guards were silent. “As my husband and I understand it, you have been searching for a way to get all of your new…  _ offshore assets _ … into the Gotham banks, but with little success. We’ve been monitoring the situation and we know that the GCPD is looking to put a warrant out for arrest for modern day pirating, simply because they keep catching you trying to put all of these large sums into the banks after retrieving them. The good news is, my husband and I, for the most part, own the banks in Gotham, and we’re very good at getting large sums, like this, in without being detected. So we’d like to help you.”

Tiger Shark barely looked over his shoulder at the guard behind him who had been speaking for him. The man saw his queue and spoke up, “Your fancy words mean nothing to Tiger Shark. Shorten and specify your details.”

“We’ll launder your pirated money and assets, get it into the banks, and you give us a cut of the money in return.”

Tiger Shark tapped his finger once and his guard spoke up again, “How much do you want?”

“42% of everything.”

Zsasz’s eyes shot wide. Roman wanted me to offer 8% of ours in return for something along the lines of 20% because he didn’t think Tiger Shark would bite on anything more than that. But sitting there, and thinking to myself how I needed to make an impression, I knew that 42% was too high, but we’d work our way down to something that was still more than 25%.

“30%,” the guard spoke up.

“35%,” I bargained while Zsasz was having an aneurysm next to me.

“33%. A third of everything. Take it or leave it.”

I smiled, “Deal.”

“33% for 15% of The Black Mask Club’s revenue.”

“Deal.” I think that Zsasz was about to pass out next to me.

Tiger Shark smiled and beckoned his guard close. Zsasz and I were silent as he spoke something to his guard before falling silent again. The man went to a glass cabinet hanging over the tiger’s bed. He didn’t even seem fazed as he reached over the sleeping tiger and into the cabinet for a bottle of alcohol and three glasses. He put the glasses on the marble desk before pouring equal servings in each of them, “Tiger Shark also did his research on you and your family. While he thought that he was meeting with your husband, he sought out the best bottle of bourbon available in this hemisphere. Though your husband isn’t meeting with us, Tiger Shark still wishes to share this first drink with you. And then gift this bottle to you as a token of his gratitude.”

Zsasz accepted our drinks and handed mine to me. I wasn’t the biggest fan of bourbon like Roman was, unless I was trying to get very drunk. But this gesture was a big deal, and I liked that Tiger Shark was prepared for things to go well. I also appreciated that even though he was anticipating to meet with Roman, he still heard me out and let me make the deal.

He held his drink up to his nose and smelled the drink through his mask. When he was satisfied with the glass in his hands, he held it up to the air to salute us and our new alliance. We did the same before bringing our glasses to our lips and drinking.


	5. The Lure to Hell

For some reason, Roman couldn’t keep his hands to himself after we returned to the club from my meeting with Tiger Shark. Zsasz told him almost immediately what happened and how I handled myself. Once Roman heard that I bargained 33% for 15%, the look in his eyes changed. The Roman I fell madly in love with was there again, and he wanted to fuck me until I was screaming. I could see it all over his face, even though he was trying to keep his cool.

Then, after we talked business, I showed Roman the bottle of bourbon Tiger Shark gave us, and we got to drinking in order to celebrate my win. After how well the deal went, we realized that we didn’t need the Golden Lions. This was enough to give us power over the East End, the West Side, and the financial sect of Gotham’s underground. I knew that Tiger Shark was new to the game, but I didn’t think we’d possibly walk away with something like 33%. It was more than enough to make sure Tiger Shark would be loyal to us when the day would come when we would make our move to take over Gotham.

Roman kept me seated on his lap as Zsasz tried to continue to talk about business. He was insisting that we try to talk with Rossi again. Apparently, that was what Roman was doing while I was at Tiger Shark’s. Apparently the meeting went well, but there was no way to be sure since Rossi was such a bipolar kind of guy. So Zsasz just wanted to make sure that things were set in stone sooner than later. Roman just wanted to reach under my dress, push my panties to the side, and fuck me. And I thought to myself about how I wouldn’t stop him if he tried, even if Zsasz were there.

After hearing Zsasz try to blabber on with shop talk for a few minutes while mine and Roman’s tongues were practically down each other’s throats, Roman told me to get Zsasz a drink so that he would relax. I listened, walking to the decanter and grabbing something a little stronger than the bourbon— something that probably tasted like rubbing alcohol, to be perfectly honest, but it would do the trick, no doubt.

I sat down next to Zsasz as I handed him his drink. He shuffled ever so slightly away from me as I lounged comfortably towards him. I sensed that he didn’t move because of how I was invading his personal space, but rather because I was too close to something he didn’t want me to notice. I smiled to myself. It was funny sometimes how Zsasz forgot all the times we nearly slept together. Every time he got like this, he acted like a little kid with a school crush, and I found it adorable, honestly. Roman noticed it, too. He always did. And, like always, he was fine with it. I think he was also counting down the days until we would just fuck.

Now, I could see where this could get confusing for some people, so allow me to explain. Only yesterday had Roman yelled at Zsasz for potentially flirting with me— even though he wasn’t. Of course, they got mad at each other over it, but I guess while I was fucked up with Harley, they figured their shit out. But you might be asking yourself: Wait, Mor, why would Roman let Zsasz fuck you if he’s upset about him  _ maybe _ flirting with you? Valid question. Here’s my answer: Sex does not equal love. Sorry to break it to the die hard romantics out there. You don’t have to be in love with someone to have sex, and you don’t have to be in love with someone because you had sex. Zsasz and I were friends, that line was very clear to everyone. Roman was the one for me, and nothing would change that. But sometimes it’s fun to make things interesting, i.e threesomes. So there’s my answer. Decipher that as you will.

Roman winged his arm over the couch he was sitting on as he hid his smile behind his glass. Zsasz tried to down his drink as fast as possible while keeping an eye on me as I inched closer. “Come on, Zsasz, you just need to relax every once in a while,” I said, referring to how he wouldn’t shut up about work. “We should celebrate today’s win.” Zsasz drank faster. I sat up and leaned forward, putting my hand on the cushion space just between his manspread legs. He tensed up, staring at my hand so close to him, while I grabbed the empty drink from his hands, “Let me get you some more to drink.”

His eyeline drifted to the heart shaped cut out in my dress just over my breasts. As I caught him, he tried to cough and look away. My hand brushed his thigh as I pushed myself to my feet. I poured him another drink, and when I went to go sit down, I sat closer to him. 

Roman crossed his legs and kept his glass down over his crotch, and I knew that he wanted me to keep going. Afterall, this had been building for so long, he wasn’t going to stop it when we were this close again— that was, unless Zsasz told us to stop… which he probably wouldn’t.

This time, it was Zsasz who reached out to me. His hand grazed my arm and I felt chills run down my spine. As his fingertips danced over my forearm ever so slightly, I leaned back in towards him in order to put my hand on his thigh. Zsasz suddenly came to a halt when I got a little too close to his growing hard-on. I kept moving until my palm was covering him and he moaned quietly. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Roman trying to get comfortable on his sofa while also trying to hide his erection.

My pointer and middle fingers lifted up to Zsasz’s chin to push his face to look straight at mine. When I had his attention, I stretched over the space between us in order to kiss him. He put down his drink without looking in order to have both of his hands free so that he could grab the back of my neck and kiss me more passionately.

He pulled me closer to him to the point I was nearly in his lap. My hands ran over his short white hair while I threw one leg over his thighs, but not enough to pull me completely on him. He kept grasping at my hips to create friction between us.

“Mr. S? You up here?” Dinah called from the hallway. Roman beckoned his little songbird from the corner, and my touch left Zsasz. Dinah approached, eyeing all of us with suspicion. “Um, some guy named Rossi just sent his guys over. Said to tell you that things were good, whatever that means.”

Zsasz, Roman, and I all exchanged glances. We knew what it meant, and we knew that it was great fucking news. We were really starting to win. Things couldn’t get much better.

“Thank you for letting us know,” Roman said to Dinah. She nodded and turned to leave, but Roman stopped her, “Oh, keep an eye on the place tonight, will you, songbird? We have some things that need to be taken care of.”

Dinah nodded, “Sure. Whatever you say.” She turned again and left the penthouse without so much as another word or glance. I think she knew what was going on and decided that she wanted no part of it. I didn’t blame her.

I got up to pour myself a drink, needing to get rid of the pink flush on my face and replace it with a confident look. Roman stood up to bring me his glass for another drink, and I obliged him while he went to sit next to Zsasz on the couch.

As I poured the drinks, I made sure that they were staring at my back for long enough until they were ready to ravish me. I had no doubts that they would, but it wasn’t going to be that easy.

I handed Roman his drink before I laid myself out on the other couch, keeping on knee bent for there to be just barely enough view of what could be theirs. “I still don’t know what my prize is for getting us such a great deal with Tiger Shark,” I said.

“Be careful you don’t get a punishment,” Roman warmed.

I fake pouted, “Promise?”

“You’re skating on thin ice.”

“I know.”

“Is she always a brat?” Zsasz questioned.

“Only when she wants something.”

I spread my thighs ever so slightly, enough to notice, but not enough to get a full look. “You started this,” I said innocently.

Zsasz ran the palm of his hand over his cock, and I felt myself get wet. Admittedly more than I should’ve been without having even touched. I wondered if this was torturing me more than them… Maybe my plan was backfiring. My thighs touched and I squirmed slightly against the couch. They liked watching me squirm. They liked watching me fall apart as I tried to tease them.

“She does this every time,” Roman told Zsasz like I wasn’t even in the room. Like I was an object to be admired. “Pretends like she’s all innocent, like she has the upperhand, but she slowly falls apart while she does it.”

“Then what?” Zsasz egged on.

“Then I fuck her until she sees stars.”

I gulped and rolled my hips against the cushions beneath me, “Maybe that’s exactly what I want.”

“We didn’t say you could speak,” Zsasz said sternly.

Roman and Zsasz smiled at each other. “Soon she’ll be on her knees, begging for our attention. She’ll do anything we want if we wait long enough.”

“Stop it,” I begged.

“I will gag you,” Roman warned. I felt my mouth go dry and Zsasz’s mouth fell agape at Roman’s words. “When she gets like this, she’ll either get really quiet and obedient or she’ll get all sassy and feisty. There’s no in between, and it’s always a flip of a coin. But she looks so obedient for us right now…”

“Fuck, boss,” Zsasz moaned. They had definitely done this before.  _ Shit. I’m in over my head. _

I didn’t see it coming, what happened next. One minute Zsasz was palming himself, the next Roman had his hand on Zsasz crotch. Zsasz threw his head back against the couch and winged his arms over the top of the couch.

“Seeing what she can do is…  _ something else _ . The way her tongue glides…” his hand replicated the imagery alone Zsasz’s clothed shaft. “The way her tight pussy clenches…” he gripped Zsasz’s cock, earning a hitched breath groan from him. “You wouldn’t believe it.” Roman undid Zsasz’s pants, “Why don’t you show him what I mean, baby?” I felt like I couldn’t breathe, let alone speak or walk. I had to crawl my way over to them, trying so hard to not just crumble on the floor with my legs spread for them.

Roman took Zsasz in his hand for me, watching with dark and lustful eyes as I steadied my hands on Zsasz’s thighs. His hands tangled themselves in my hair as Roman pumped his hand a few times and I pressed my tongue against his tip, “ _ Fuck _ ,” he hissed. I looked up at Roman as I laid my tongue flat, circling the head of Zsasz’s erect dick.

“Good girl,” Roman cooed, caressing the back of my head and pushing my mouth onto all of Zsasz. He gagged my throat, and Zsasz moaned, tightening his grip on my hair. “Didn’t I tell you, Zsasz? Best blowjob you’ll ever get.”

“Fuck. Yeah, boss.”

My tongue ran up his length as I slowly pulled my mouth to the tip, but Roman shoved me back down, and I kept gagging. Zsasz was too big… What was he going to feel like inside of me?

“Come here,” Roman ordered Zsasz.

I watched as Zsasz turned his head and Roman kissed him roughly. I moaned around Zsasz at the sight. I didn’t know this about Roman… He had never told me. I knew it about Zsasz, everyone did. But Roman? Fuck. All the possibilities. Zsasz twitched in my mouth as Roman dominated their kiss. They both controlled my head, bopping me up and down on Zsasz’s cock until he was close.

Roman pulled me off and I wiped the drool dripping down my chin away with my thumb. “Not yet.”

“Fuck, boss, come on.”

“No.” Roman liked being demanding like that. Nothing was ever up for debate when it came to him. He ordered people and things around and they did what he asked. The only ones who ever argued with him were me and Zsasz, and that was obviously going  _ very  _ well for us. “Take her.” I raised a brow. “Fuck her, Zsasz. Right here, on the carpet. Come on, don’t be shy. You’ve done much worse with me watching.”

“Yeah, but,  _ boss _ , you were never  _ married  _ to them.”

“So? She obviously wants it. And I want you to fuck her. You wouldn’t disappoint me, would you, Zsasz?”

Zsasz hesitated for a moment, “Course not,” then he kissed Roman. I sat back on the floor, carefully watching Zsasz’s every move. Zsasz took off his jeans and slid off the couch, then kneeled in front of me. “You gonna be a good girl for me?” he questioned as his hand ran up my leg. He towered over me, making me lay against the fur rug beneath us. His hand traveled further, reaching under my dress and between my thighs. “So wet already.”

Roman leaned back to watch us while playing with himself and drinking. We were a sight, I was sure: Zsasz dominating over me, his hand between my thighs, and me, letting it all happen willingly. Roman watching us ignited a fire deep within me. Zsasz tore my dress off my body to reveal my bare breasts. He pulled his own shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. I ran my hands down his abs, admiring how gorgeous he was. He pried my panties off my body, handing them to Roman without even having to turn.

Roman put my panties in his pocket and continued to watch us. “Go slow,” he instructed.

Zsasz listened, taking both of my breasts in his hand and massaging them lightly. He pinched my nipples roughly and I moaned for him. “You’re right, boss. Like puddy in my hands.” He leaned down and took one of my nipples in his mouth. He took what Roman said to heart, moving his hands around my body so slowly I thought I was about to explode with excitement. His teeth gently pulled at my nipples and a moan escaped me. God, I wanted him to just fuck me already.

“Taste her,” Roman finally said. I tensed up at his words and looked into Zsasz’s eyes as he stuck his tongue out and started licking one long stripe down my torso and to the mound above where I needed him most. “Keep going slow.”

Zsasz kissed my skin gently and I shivered. My hands instinctively found the fur carpet beneath me and they turned into fists around the fur. He smirked against my skin before kissing my clit gently. I gasped breathlessly. I waited before I felt his tongue latch onto my clit and start flicking back and forth.

“Holy—” I couldn’t find the words.

My knuckles were turning white while I held onto the carpet and arched my back into the air, but his hands held my hips down onto the bed. His tongue stopped flicking back and forth, then he removed one of his hands from my hip and inserted two fingers into my core ever so slowly.

“Please, stop teasing,” I begged while trying to catch my breath. I managed to open my eyes for long enough to spot Roman smirking down at me as he pumped his length slowly. “Baby, please,” I whined to him.

Roman didn’t hesitate to push his pants down completely, take off his jacket and pull his shirt over his head, then crawl on his knees to me. I reached out for him and he led my hand to his length. I took him in my hand, moving my up and down as fast as I could so as to encourage him to let Zsasz move faster.

“Make her squirm,” Roman finally said.

I yelped loudly, throwing my head back against the floor as Zsasz started fingering me faster and circling my bundle of nerves with his tongue. My walls clenched around him, yet I could still feel that I was growing wetter.

My pace around Roman’s cock quickened and his breath hitched at the feeling. He thrusted his hips forward, trying to get me to continue and I did, and so did Zsasz. Zsasz licked his tongue up and down my slit, my legs resting on his shoulders so that I was open wide for him. His fingers started to curl inside me as he thrust in, and I moaned at the feeling. “Zsasz, don’t stop!” I screamed. But he didn’t listen.

He instantly halted his actions and pulled from me, and when I whined, he responded, “Sorry, little rose. Give Roman some of that attention and keep your mouth busy.” I did as he said, turning my head to the side. As I took Roman’s long, hard length in my mouth, Zsasz ran a single finger up and down my folds teasingly. He drifted upwards and started circling my clit. I moaned in response. “Are you still sensitive?” I moaned again, bobbing my head on Roman’s dick. “What happens if I do this?”

Since I wasn’t looking at him, I didn’t know what it was he was referring to until he did it. He licked a single, slow stripe up my folds and kissed my clit again. My thighs pinched in and up towards his head and he laughed before doing it again. He crawled back to his knees and pulled Roman in for another kiss.

“Fuck her,” Roman moaned into the kiss as my tongue ran over his sensitive tip. His hands tangled themselves in my hair, “Fuck her nice and hard,” he pulled me back onto the length of his cock and started moving my head as he willed it, “until she’s screaming around my cock.”

_ Fucking hell… _

Zsasz grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to meet his. I felt the tip of his erection pass by my folds as he situated between my thighs. Then, as he lined himself up with my entrance, Roman kept me gagging on his cock so that I couldn’t cuss or beg for more. Zsasz, taking Roman’s lead, slammed into me hard. I moaned around Roman, and his grip in my hair tightened in response. Zsasz’s fingers were digging into my hips as he fucked me hard and fast, no holding back. 

My hands went to touch Zsasz’s chest, to feel up the muscles and the scars, just because I needed  _ more _ ; but Zsasz grabbed my wrists before I could make contact, and he moved to pin them above my head. I whined and tried to fight against him, but Roman helped, and I was suddenly outnumbered.

“I’m gonna cum in this pretty mouth of yours,” Roman said gruffly. “And Zsasz is gonna cum in that tight pussy. Is that what you want, baby?” I nodded as much as I could with his hands still bobbing my head to suck him off. “Morgana…” I moaned again when he said my name. His breath wavered as he held me to the base of his cock and he came in my mouth. 

As he came down from his high, he released his grip from my hair and helping Zsasz keep my hands pinned, and he slid from my mouth slowly. I swallowed everything he gave me while he wiped the bit of cum that was on my lips away with his thumb. I watched as he took his thumb and slowly gilded it into Zsasz’s mouth.

Zsasz moaned around Roman’s thumb, “I’m close, boss.” Roman pulled his thumb away and kissed Zsasz passionately, then put his thumb on my clit, rubbing fast circles over the nub. My hands fought against Zsasz’s grip again at the feeling. I was close with Zsasz, like we were both approaching our orgasms at the same time, like Roman wanted me to cum on Zsasz’s cock while he came inside me. “Shit,” Zsasz cursed against Roman’s lips as I came around him, my walls clenching around him until he came inside me. “God…” he breathed as he thrust one more time sloppily before pulling out. He released my hands and I immediately pushed my torso up so that I could kiss him. “Little rose,” he whispered against my lips, his hands cradling the back of my head.

I parted from him to take a breath, but Roman swooped in and kissed me. Zsasz’s lips attached to my neck and I chuckled at them. “I love you, Roman,” I said to him when we parted. “More than anything.”

His forehead pressed against mine, “I love you, Morgana.” And we kissed again, Zsasz’s lips tasting every inch of my skin, then moving on to Roman. “You did good, baby.” My hands ran over Zsasz’s white hair before they kissed in front of me. “And you didn’t disappoint,” he told Zsasz.

“I never do,” Zsasz snipped before pushing Roman onto his back and hovering over him. At that moment, I realized that we wouldn’t be sleeping that night. And I was excited about it.


	6. Hell's Depths

Out of the three of us, I was the first to wake up. Usually, Zsasz was here at the crack of dawn to start work with Roman, while Roman would make sure I would get to sleep in. But after the night we had, it only made sense that neither of them woke up early. It also made sense why Zsasz wasn’t bursting into our bedroom for Roman’s attention… because he certainly had plenty of his attention last night.

I pried myself out from under Roman’s arm and slid off the bed slowly so that they didn’t wake up from the movement. Roman rolled over in his sleep, pulling Zsasz close to his chest. I smiled before standing up and walking to the wardrobe. It creaked as I opened the right side door and pulled out one of my old graphic t-shirts that I hardly ever wore anymore. Ever since Roman started buying me clothes— despite my protests— I had practically only been wearing expensive designer shit. But sometimes it was nice to just relax in an oversized t-shirt that had the NASA logo on it.

“Where are you headed, little rose?” Zsasz asked quietly, trying not to disturb Roman who was sleeping behind him.

I pulled up my leggings and shimmied a bit in them to make them fit right. “Breakfast. Want anything?” He shook his head. I approached his side of the bed and leaned down to kiss him.

His free hand looped one of my curls around his finger like Roman liked to do. “Don’t get lost out there, little rose.”

“Never.”

I grabbed a pair of my sneakers from the bottom of the wardrobe before silently closing it and exiting the bedroom. Everything was so quiet without the hustle and bustle of Roman’s staff working under his and Zsasz’s orders. It was odd to wake up to a quiet home and to have everything else quiet, too. I mean, even the guards down in the club weren’t up to much.

No one stopped me on my way out the front door of the club. Two of the guards looked to each other and asked amongst themselves if someone should go with me— and if they didn’t, would Roman be mad? The door closed behind me, though, and they didn’t follow me. Even as I started off for my jog, no one seemed to be searching for or chasing me. It was peaceful. It was just like how the first few days in Gotham were for me all those years ago.

Back then, I didn’t have to worry about my relationship with Roman, my friendship with Zsasz, running two separate businesses, and not getting fucking arrested by the cops. Things used to be so simple. I came to this city looking for a fresh start. I got a job, I made friends, I had found my favorite little restaurant, and I was just finding myself. Despite the fact that Cal and Richard were both fucking creeps who just wanted to get in my pants, I still had the freedom to do whatever. But I still didn’t know myself until I met Roman.

It was nice to think about how mundane things were back then, but I’d never go back. I’d never give up what I had with Roman, Zsasz, the club, or the chaos of my life. I liked where my life had led me, and the people it gave me. Never in a million years did I see myself as the girl who’d be married to a rich bachelor, and never in a million years did I see myself having a threesome with him and our best friend. But now the thought lit a fire in my heart and set off every butterfly in my stomach.

Roman had given me all of this. He did this all for me, because he loved me more than anything, and I loved him more than anything. Everything he did for me I could never repay, but I tried every single day of my life by loving him, seeing him, understanding him, and supporting him.  _ And, god, do I love you, Roman Sionis. _

I didn’t think that it was possible to mend the fractures that had been forming between me and Roman because of how far he had let his demons get out of control. He promised me that he’d get them sorted soon, but with all of our arguing it didn’t seem like it would matter. But then I surprised myself with the Tiger Shark deal, and things progressed with Zsasz in return… and suddenly everything with Roman made sense again. I remembered why I loved him so much it made my heart twist to think about being parted from him. 

I loved Roman Sionis because of his demons. I had lost my way on that topic, thinking that his demons were the thing separating us, when in reality it was me forgetting our vows. I promised to see and understand him no matter what… and I think that somewhere along the way, as my demons faded and his got stronger, I forgot that. I forgot that his demons made him special. I forgot that his demons were the things that made him unique and made him love me in a way no one else could.

But our demons reemerged last night. With Roman’s wild proposal to sleep with Zsasz, my demons took over my body and I was the same Morgana Wreef Roman fell in love with two years ago all over again. I didn’t give a shit about anything but them… and I wanted them no matter what. I wanted to remember what it was like to be  _ crazy  _ again. And last night gave me that again.

The nostalgic smell of Sal’s breakfast bacon hit my nose from around the corner as I continued my jog. It felt like it had been an eternity since I’d been to Sal’s personally. Roman always sent Zsasz or someone else to collect our meals from the small deli, but I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes in forever. It still looked the same as it did two years ago. Not a thing had changed about it. The only difference was the block itself. Newer and better businesses had moved into the other shops surrounding Sal’s, but the son of a bitch still had his little store, and it made me happy.

Sal spotted me walking by the window and waved at me with a shocked smile. I waved back before opening the door and stepping in. The sound of the doorbell rang in my ear as he greeted me with, “Well, look what the cat dragged in.”

“It’s good to see you, Sal,” I welcomed back.

“How’ve you been, kiddo?”

I shrugged and ran my hand over the shelves full of ethnic groceries. “Same old, same old. How about you?”

“Same old, same old,” he teased. I turned back to him while holding back a grin. He smiled and turned to the grill, throwing on a burger patty and egg for me. “Heard you got hitched to that Sionis kid. He good to you?” I nodded. “That’s good. He’s a nice guy. Nothing like his father.”

“You met him?” I asked, quite shocked. I didn’t think Roman had ever been to Sal’s before.  _ Interesting. _

Sal nodded, flipping the burger over, “Comes in once a month to help with my bills.” I raised a brow, and he took notice. He pointed with his spatula out the window, “These big guys with big name money keep trying to come in here and run me out of business so that they can put something new in here. They did it with all the other stores on this block, but when Sionis found out I was gonna be run out, he offered to help pay the guys off, even though they keep increasing the rent. He comes in just before rent is due every month to see if I need anything.”

How did I not know this? How had Roman kept this a secret from me? Specifically, how did he keep the payments hidden? I mean, I shouldn’t have been shocked, we launder money for criminals. Roman wasn’t exactly a stranger to hiding money from people.

Sal wrapped up my breakfast burger for me, and I went for my wallet, “You know better, kiddo. It’s on the house.”

I shook my head, “Come on, Sal.”

“Your family has done enough for me.” He handed me my sandwich before I could pay him. I took the burger in one hand while smoothly dropping a twenty into the tip jar.

There was a time when I couldn’t afford to pay Sal, and it stressed the shit out of me because I wanted to help. But now I could afford to pay him, and I could help. Granted, I didn’t  _ know _ that I  _ needed _ to help, but Roman did, and he stepped up to protect something I loved about Gotham.

_ All this time, he’s been doing this for me, and he didn’t even have to brag or tell me.  _

As I unwrapped my sandwich and watched Sal pour me a cup of coffee, I asked him about his family. He caught me up with everything about his wife and his kids while I ate, and in return he asked me questions about my life since I met Roman. I told him as much as I could, barring myself from uttering a word about our  _ other _ businesses, and everything that had happened with Zsasz. Afterall, those weren’t things you would just go around bragging about.

On my way out, Sal told me to come visit again, and I said that I would. I didn’t know when I’d be free to do this again. After yesterday, the odds that Roman would entrust me with more work were high. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever have another free second in the future after being thrown into the business head first. But I knew I’d try to still visit whenever I could. Afterall, it had been too long since I had last seen Sal. I didn’t want to make a habit of missing him.

Back at home, I found that the club was bustling around with chores and other orders, a sign that Roman was awake. The guards who had watched me leave were no longer sitting around, and, in fact, were nowhere to be found. I shrugged it off as though they were off somewhere else, patrolling around the building or something of the sorts.

I passed the cook in the stairwell. He was heading back down to the kitchen in the club in a hurry, while I was slowly strolling up the steps towards the penthouse. I pressed my back against the railing in order to give him a clear path down, before continuing upstairs.

In the penthouse, things were especially quiet. I found Zsasz laying down on one of the sofas, dressed in Roman’s clothes. One of his arms was draped over his eyes as he relaxed there, half asleep. I thought to myself about how he was still recovering from last night, and I tried not to chuckle.

“Morgana,” Roman greeted from his seat at the dining table. He started cutting into an omelette as I made my way over. “Where were you off to so early in the morning?” He was being calm with me, but I could tell that he was irritated that I had left without warning.

“I went for a jog and to get some breakfast.” I moved around the table so that I could sit on Roman’s lap. He accommodated my wish, pushing his chair back ever so slightly and dropping his fork for a second so that I could get situated. I swung my arms around the back of his neck to keep me steady after he reached around me to eat his food. “Did you sleep well?”

He smirked, “Funny.” He took a bite of his omelette and the room was silent again.

“I think I’m gonna take a shower,” I said. “Care to join?” My hand was working its way down, and Roman took notice.

“Can’t,” Roman finally answered once he was done chewing. “There’s lots to do around here before tonight.”

Tonight?”

“Zsasz,” Roman beckoned. Victor sat up and looked at us with a raised brow. “Show her the invite, won’t you?”

Zsasz rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the couch. Well, at least things haven’t changed between us. Zsasz was still being himself, and Roman and I were being us. It was a weight off my shoulder, for sure. But as Zsasz handed me the invitation Roman referenced, I couldn’t help but notice how he went out of his way to touch my hand.  _ Shit. _

I tried to ignore it by looking down at the invitation now in my hands. “When did Tiger Shark send this over?” I asked after looking it over. It was a party invite for that night. Tiger Shark was holding it at his private aquarium, and we were invited.  _ I didn’t realize I had made that much of an impression. _

“His guys dropped it off after you left,” Zsasz answered, taking the seat at the table which was usually mine. “Told us some bullshit about how it’s an absolute honor to be invited to Tiger Shark’s precious private aquarium, blah, blah, blah.”

I scoffed, “I mean, sure, why not? The dude owns a fucking tiger as a house pet. It doesn’t surprise me that he has an aquarium, too.”

“It’s a little much, if you ask me,” Roman spoke up.

“You’re one to talk, Mr. Sionis,” I jabbed lightly.

Roman clicked his tongue at me as though he were annoyed with my comment. “We’ll be attending and we’ll all be on our best behavior. Got it?”

Zsasz and I shared a glance. Honestly, after last night, I couldn’t believe that he didn’t already have me pinned under him again. I was surprised that I wasn’t begging for them again. But he was still staring at me, and I knew that he was also thinking about it…  _ Shit. _

I shook off the thought, “I’m going to shower on my own, then.”

Roman picked up his coffee, “I laid out a dress for you. Apparently Tiger Shark likes red, so…”

I slid off his lap and headed towards the bedroom, spotting the red dress sprawled on the bed from a distance. I rolled my eyes at the fact that it was another new, expensive designer dress Roman had probably bought just for this event, and just for Tiger Shark. The perk of it, I suppose, was the fact that it was certainly a tight fitting dress, which meant that it’d be really hard for Roman to play by his own rule: behaving ourselves. I snickered at the fact before closing the bedroom door behind me.

Limousines lined the curb in front of Tiger Shark’s private aquarium. A valet team of sorts opened every car door and welcomed every guest. Roman and I were together in the backseat of his prized possession: a 1954 R-Type Bentley. Sometimes, I thought that the fucking car meant more to him than life itself, and that he liked to show it off more than he liked to show me off.

Dinah inched the car forward as the limousine in front of us drove away after dropping off its guests. One of the valet men came over and opened my side of the car, gingerly holding out a hand for me. I smiled and took his hand. He helped me out of the car while I made sure that the end of my dress didn’t get caught on anything.

As I walked around the back of the car and onto the sidewalk, the valet closed the door and let Dinah know she could drive off. Roman offered his arm for me, and with a thankful smile, I linked my arm with his. Then, as we took our first steps together inside, Zsasz decided to stay close to my side.

We turned into the main lobby where the majority of the crowd was gathered. There was a bar pressed against the back wall, and there was a small stage to the left, under the glass stairs, for a classical orchestra. Roman pointed upward to something, and I followed what he was looking at with my eyes. I guess I shouldn’t have been shocked by what I saw, but there was the underside of a giant fish tank and the underbellies of countless sharks.

“Well, he sure does stick to his name, doesn’t he?” Roman whispered. 

I smiled, nodded, and took his hand before leading him through the crowd to the bar. We pushed our way forward and called the bartender over. She hurried to us and leaned across the bar to hear me as I ordered our drinks. She nodded and started pouring Roman’s bourbon and making my mojito with extra mint. Roman reached for his glass and handed me mine before taking my hand again and leading me back towards Zsasz.

We were the outcasts of the party, we quickly realized. We were like the group of nerds sitting off to the side at the high school dance, waiting for someone of importance to come talk to us. Most of the people at the party didn’t run in the same group Roman and Tiger Shark ran in… meaning they didn’t come from underground money. What could we possibly have to talk about with these people? More importantly was, where the hell was Tiger Shark?

“How long we gotta be here, boss?” Zsasz inquired, looking over his shoulder at the door to keep tabs on who was coming in.

“‘Til it’s appropriate to leave, Victor,” Roman answered while sliding his empty hand around my waist. “Do you have somewhere to be tonight?” Zsasz fell silent and kicked the carpet out of boredom. “Let’s find our host and thank him for the invitation.”

The three of us were on the move again, pushing through the thick crowd of rich socialites dressed in clothes that were probably worth more than the aquarium itself. We followed the glass steps over the band up to the upper floor where more guests were hiding with their drinks. It was certainly quieter upstairs, and I quickly found out why people weren’t too keen to venture upstairs. On the main floor, the ceiling was the giant shark tank, and I guess I should’ve anticipated that the floor of this level would have been the very same tank, but I was still shocked when I stepped onto the glass floor with my heels on.

The sharks seemed to be unbothered by us as we walked across the floor, working our way to the opposite side of the room where Tiger Shark was sitting by himself. The same guards who had spoken on his behalf the previous day were with him, standing over his shoulder just like yesterday. 

Tiger Shark and his men took notice of our approach before we were even halfway across the room. He smiled under his red mask and nodded to the guard over his right shoulder. “Tiger Shark is pleased to see you again, Mrs. Sionis,” the guard said to us once we were standing in front of them. “He’s also very excited to meet you, Mr. Sionis.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Roman responded.

“The pleasure is all Tiger Shark’s,” the guard insisted roughly like it was law. Roman backed down. “He welcomes you all to his private aquarium and insists that you explore a little before your gift arrives.”

“Our gift?” I questioned.

“This party is to celebrate you and your alliance with Tiger Shark, after all.”

Roman smiled politely. I didn’t think any of us had prepared for the answer we were given. I mean, the timing of the party was certainly impeccable, so we should have only assumed that the party was for us… But we didn’t want to be presumptuous, either— at least not with a guy like Tiger Shark who continued to surprise us.

“Tiger Shark wishes to speak with other guests,” the other guard spoke up after his boss gestured to him. “You are dismissed.”

_ Oh… okay, then.  _ Like I said, he never ceased to amaze us. At least we had something new to keep us on our toes.

Roman and I turned from Tiger Shark, and Zsasz stepped out of our way so that he could follow us back downstairs. “That was…” Roman began, confused as to what he should say next. What word could possibly describe whatever the hell that was?

“Interesting?” I tried finishing his sentence for him with the most polite adjective I could think of. Roman nodded an agreement. “I wonder what his gift is.”

“I can’t possibly imagine—”

“Roman Beauvais Sionis!” someone called to my husband from the entrance of the building, louder than both the music and the crowd’s chatter. Roman, Zsasz, and I stopped on the glass steps in sync with the band as they fell silent. “There you are, you gorgeous son of a bitch!” 

The crowd was now quiet. All eyes were on us.

“Don Maroni, they let you in here?” Roman responded jokingly.

Maroni grinned ear to ear, “Their first mistake.” He opened his arms wide, “Come here.”

Roman led me down the rest of the steps and past the audience of the main floor. Roman let go of my hand so that he could hug Maroni properly while also juggling his drink. They hugged tightly before Maroni leaned back to kiss both of Roman’s cheeks then his lips. When they parted, Maroni immediately turned to me and greeted me in the same fashion.

“Mor, looking as radiant as ever. I keep telling you, Roman, this woman deserves a little Sionis after all the shit you put her through.”

I tried my best to not react to Salvatore’s comment, and instead dodge it. “How’ve you been, Salvatore?”

He tsked his tongue, “You know, moving around, taking care of business, keeping the wife happy, keeping track of all the little ones.” He looked over my shoulder and snapped towards the band, who then took their cue to restart their song. When the music swelled up and everyone returned to their business, Maroni continued to chat with us. “I’d feel much better if I knew that our lion problem has been taken care of.”

Roman cleared his throat and shifted his eyes away from Maroni. “He didn’t take the deal.”

Maroni wasn’t cheerful and welcoming anymore. His face fell and he shifted his weight on the balls of his feet. “What?”

“He doesn’t want to do business with us because we’re not family.”

“Did you give him the whole speech about how family can be the people you choose?” Maroni asked and Roman nodded. “Keo’s full of shit. He’s got business with half of the city. For some fucking reason he still holds a grudge against me and my family— people like you.” He bit the inside of his cheek while he pondered something for a quick moment. “Just…  _ handle _ it, Roman. Whatever it takes. Get it?” Roman nodded again. “Good. Now, let’s drink, shall we?” He winged his arms over mine and Roman’s shoulders as he squeezed between us. “This is a party! You know how to party, Sionis!”

Roman looked over his other shoulder to talk to Zsasz while Maroni was focused on me. Zsasz leaned in close for Roman’s order before a wicked smirk grew on his face.  _ What’s that about?  _ Zsasz stepped away from Roman again just as Maroni let go of us so that he could go get a drink from the bar.

Once he was far into the crowd, I turned to Roman, “Care to share with the class?”

“Keo’s here,” Roman responded. “I’m guessing he’s Tiger Shark’s gift.”

“That’s quite a leap, Roman.”

“Think about it, the guy keeps trying to impress us… Why wouldn’t he invite the guy who’s been pretty vocal about being against us, just to put him on a silver platter for us. Salvatore said to handle it, Tiger Shark just gave us the opportunity to do so.”

“We can’t do anything about it now, though.”

Roman shook his head, “Of course not. It’ll have to be later. Zsasz is going to talk to Frankie about grabbing Keo on his way out.” I looked over Roman’s shoulder to spot that Zsasz was already talking with Maroni’s right hand man, Frankie Carbone. “And then we’ll have our fun…” His thumb and index finger lightly pinched my chin so that he could lift my face up towards his. He leaned down ever so slightly and kissed me.

“You two love birds can never keep your hands off of each other,” Maroni chuckled as he reapproached with a drink in hand. We parted and smiled politely at him. He lifted his drink for a toast, “To love and loyalty.”

Roman and I lifted our drinks, too, “To love and loyalty.”

Roman and I escaped the craziness of the party and Maroni’s constant nagging for more shots. I think that my head was certainly spinning more than Roman’s from the way he led me expertly through the crowd. We were looking for a quiet place to catch our breath and just talk together like husband and wife would do.

There was a hallway on the left of the lobby which led to more of the aquarium. We passed tanks and tanks of different fish until we found a separate exhibit that was marked as: UNDER THE SEA LIGHTS. Roman looked back at me for reassurance that this was where we wanted to go, and I just smiled at him before pulling him along. It was a short hallway with no lighting until we reached a glowing staircase that led down to another floor.

I was careful with my heels on as I took every step one breath at a time while holding onto the railing. When my feet were planted on the floor, I turned back to Roman to see that he was following me closely. Together, hand in hand, we turned the corner to the left and stepped into a glass tunnel. There were no lights after the stairs, and even those were hidden around a wall. The only light there was in the tunnel came from all of the different kinds of fish that glowed in the dark. Gils, tentacles, fins, and everything between lit up the space as the fish swam in the huge tank around the tunnel.

Without thinking, my hand parted from Roman’s. I craned my neck up to watch a school of fish swim overhead. I followed them with my eyes, spinning around in a slow circle until a bright moon jelly caught my eye. I kept spinning in small, slow circles, carefully stepping towards the middle of the tunnel. When I started to get dizzy, I stopped to stare at a stingray that was hugging the left side of the glass tunnel. Its small face looked to be smiling at me as it glided up the glass then back down towards Roman. I smiled back at it. My eyes caught Roman staring at me in fascination and awe.

“You’re drooling, Mr. Sionis,” I teased.

He picked up his jaw from the floor as he smiled back at me. “I couldn’t help myself, Mrs. Sionis.” He dug his hands into his pockets like he was at a loss for words. I blushed, which caught his attention. “Don’t stop on my account.”

I shrugged and looked to my right at one of the moon jellies who was coming to investigate me. “It’s fun watching you when you’re all quiet and fidgety.” I looked back up at him. He was still standing there, staring at me with that look of awe that lit up his whole face. “Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked.

Roman smiled. “You’re so cute when you’re excited like that.”

I pouted, stepping toward him. “So I’m not cute otherwise?”

He took two steps forward, folding his arms. “Don’t put words in my mouth like that.”

I walked another few paces forward until our noses nearly touched. “Maybe it’s best that you stop talking, then.” I slid my arms around his neck and pulled him down to kiss me. His hands slid up to my face and he held my cheeks gently in his palms. Above us, from where the main level of the party was, the band started to play our song as if they knew where we were and what we were doing. “The timing.” I laughed against Roman’s lips.

His hands slowly fell from my face before he wrapped his arms around my waist. “Just our luck.”

We mindlessly started swaying side to side ever so slowly to the muffled sound of our favorite song, our foreheads pressed together. I held onto his neck for balance, fearing that if I ever let go, the moment would pass and I’d forget this for forever. And I desperately wanted to stay like that until our legs gave out.

Roman’s fingers gently curled up into a ball, fisting one of the fabric of my dress, then he pulled me even closer. Casually, I let my cheek rest against Roman’s shoulder as he helped sway my hips with his. All I had to do was hold him and shuffle my feet every so often. And then, when he started humming in my ear along with the song, I thought my knees were about to give out. He knew how to get to me, and he was doing it all at once.

In the oddest of ways, my body and mind seemed scrambled, yet everything felt so plain and clear. We always used to talk about making sense of things together, and how that would take a long time— and we still were trying to do all of that, but that night things seemed to change. All of the hardships we had been facing recently seem to fade away and it was just us and how we used to be again.

_ Perfect. _

“I missed this,” I finally said. My fingers started playing with the end of his long hair, just where it met his neck. He shivered at first in response to the feeling, but then it soothed him and he continued humming.

Even as the song upstairs came to an end, Roman kept humming the tune in my ear like he was a broken record, stuck in a trance. I didn’t correct or stop him, though. I only nuzzled my face into his shoulder some more and tried to let everything else going on in our lives drift away from my thoughts.

“That stingray won’t stop staring at us,” Roman said. I laughed against his chest. “We should get home.” He started to slowly pry himself from me, but I grabbed him and held him close. “What is it?” he inquired worriedly.

“Can we just stay like this for a little while longer?”

His hands returned to my hips and he tilted his head so that his cheek was pressed against my temple. “‘Kay.”

I didn’t want to leave the tranquility of that dim lit, private tunnel just yet. Outside, just up the steps, Zsasz and Frankie would be waiting for Roman’s cue to grab Keo, if they hadn’t already, and Maroni and Tiger Shark would be eager to talk more business and pester about getting rid of the Golden Lions. But worst of all, upstairs, I’d have to face Zsasz again and really confront what had happened the previous night.

So I made my decision: I just wouldn't go upstairs, then.


	7. See You In Hell

Half asleep, I rolled over in bed and reached over to Roman’s side in order to touch or hold him. To my surprise, though, I only found an empty, cold spot where Roman usually slept. I jolted upright and frantically searched the room for any sign of intruders or a struggle. I relaxed as my eyes cleared the room and I discovered a note sitting on the pillow next to me.

After wiping the sleep from my eyes, I picked up the note and tucked my knees up towards my chest. The letter was from Roman, of course, but it was in Zsasz’s rushed handwriting.  _ Where could they have possibly gone in such a rush? _ I figured that after our late night, Roman would want to spend some extra time in bed… and I supposed that it wouldn’t have hurt to talk to him about how things have been looking up for us recently after our deal with Tiger Shark, the night with Zsasz, and how last night felt so different for us. I hadn’t felt like that around Roman in some time, and I wanted him to know that I was happy we were working towards being our old selves again.

_ There’s a surprise waiting for you on the docks when you wake up. You looked too peaceful to bother, so we’ll wait for you. Have Jackie drive you. She’ll be standing outside. I love you. _

_ Yours, Roman. _

Jackie was one of the newer guards Zsasz hired for us. Roman insisted that he wanted more female staff around to protect me because he didn’t like how some of the guys looked at me. While his jealousy was clearly misplaced, it was nice to have more of a female presence around the place. And, besides, Jackie had proven in the past that she was loyal and brave. She practically came with me everywhere now, she even joined us as a part of the team that joined us at Tiger Shark’s mansion the other day.

Excited to see what surprise Roman had waiting for me down on the docks, I hurried around the penthouse in order to get ready. I pulled the first I saw in my closet, which just so happened to be a blue pantsuit. I raced to the bathroom and to my vanity in order to do my makeup and brush out my hair. 

While still slipping on my heels, I made my way to the exit of the penthouse. Jackie was standing outside, just as Roman promised. She adjusted the strap connected to the gun on her hip when she saw me open the door. I wished her a good morning as I finished putting on my second heel. I then pulled the door to the penthouse closed before following her downstairs.

The club was quiet, which meant that Roman and Zsasz had taken a large security team with them down to the docks and only left a few behind to guard our home. Jackie opened the car door for me as I stepped out onto the concrete sidewalk in front of The Black Mask Club. I thanked her for the courtesy.

After the long drive down to the docks, Jackie parked the car and came around to open my car door again. The gravel crunched under my shoes as I found my balance. Together, Jackie and I walked towards the warehouse that Roman and I owned— the very same one we used to kill Richard a few years ago.

Dinah was sitting in Roman’s car as we walked by. She looked up from her phone to acknowledge that it was me going inside and no one else before looking back down. The engine was off, which meant that Roman had been around for a whole and wasn’t planning on leaving any time soon.  _ Interesting. _

I entered the warehouse and turned the corner to where we had Richard hanging the last time I was there. Roman and Zsasz were huddled in a corner, discussing something quietly before they noticed my entrance. It gave me a quick second to look around and notice three people hanging upside down from the support beams above. As they struggled at attempts to free themselves while crying behind their gags, I realized just who it was Roman had strung up.

Mr. Keo and his family.

Roman turned towards me abruptly with a bright smile and approached me with open arms. I walked over to him, eyeing the Keo family out of the corner of my eye with confusion. “Baby, what did you do?” I questioned before accepting his kiss.

He held my chin as he kept me pressed against his lips, and I almost forgot why we were there. His gloved hand caressed my cheek after we parted, “My gift,” Roman explained. “I told you I had a surprise. Are you shocked?” I nodded slowly. “Are you happy?”

“Depends. What do you want to do to them?”

Roman bit his lip briefly, “I won’t be doing a thing. This is yours and Zsasz’s task. Do with them as you wish.”

“Like, scare them or…”

“Come on, Morgana. When would I ever ask you to just scare them?” He grabbed my shoulders and turned me towards the Keo family. He leaned in close to my ear, “I know you were upset about our deal with the Golden Lions not working out— I was, too. But I think that the Golden Lions reign has come to an end in Gotham, what do you think?” I hummed an agreement and he moved my hair away from my neck. “Let’s have a chat with them first, shall we? Get your gloves and daggers, baby,” he pointed to the table to the side. Zsasz held out my gloves for me as I walked over. I slid them on while Roman approached the crying Keo family. “Mr. Keo and his lovely wife and daughter,” Roman said. Zsasz took the chain from his side and started swinging it around in order to feed his boredom while I picked up my daggers and started playing with them. “I told you I’d come by to see you again, did I not? And you kind of forced my hand, didn’t you?” He chuckled to himself, “Sorry, I forgot about the duct tape. Mr. Zsasz, if you would be so kind.” Zsasz dropped the chain connected to the belt loops on his pants and went to rip off the tape from Mr. Keo’s mouth. I lifted myself up onto the table and sat comfortably. “Now answer me.”

Mr. Keo cringed at the feeling of the tape being ripped from his face before looking at Roman, “Please, don’t do this— we can still make a deal—” He was pleading and begging just like Roman wanted him to. It humored me to think that Mr. Keo still thought that there was a chance Roman was just going to let him go. It gave him a flicker of entertainment. 

Roman sighed, “I gotta say, I’m a little disappointed. You were supposed to answer my questions, not embarrass yourself. Try again. Go on, no rush.”

“Please, I swear. Just let my family go and I’ll give you anything you want.”

“I already gave you a great pitch! I could have given you access to the banks, but  _ no _ ! The great Golden Lions could never do business with anyone outside of family. So, then, Mr. Keo, tell me why you met with Rossi and his guys after you met with me? And tell me why they told me you offered to make a deal with them, which was going to take us out?” Roman shuffled on the balls of his feet, “I gave you that whole speech about family and how important that loyalty is to me, and you threw that all away.”

“I swear, that meeting with Rossi had nothing to do with you—”

“Don’t lie!” Roman bellowed. “You went to Rossi, but your deal wasn’t good enough, so I swooped in and I got him on my team. My army is building, and you could have been a part of it. We could have been family, like I offered, but no. So I know now how I’m going to return the favor, and it has something to do with family. Do you want to guess? I’m sure it’s pretty obvious, but go for it.”

“Mr. Sionis, please…”

“God, you’re so fucking boring. Maybe it’s a good thing that we didn’t work out. You would have been a total drag in the future I see for Gotham City.” Roman beckoned me forward with a two finger gesture. I slid off the table with a bright smile. “Morgana, your turn.”

Roman and I traded places in front of Mr. Keo. I think everyone had expected me to just reach down and start peeling his face off, just like Roman always liked. But I asked myself where the fun in that was, and why a guy like Keo deserved an easy out like that. No, no. I had other plans for Mr. Keo. As for his family, I didn’t care all that much. It was Keo himself who had wronged Roman and had treated us like shit at our meeting. He was the one who deserved to suffer.

I reached up to the rope holding Mr. Keo up by his feet and started cutting at it with my daggers. The rope eventually snapped against the tension and Mr. Keo fell suddenly onto the ground. He groaned as his back took the majority of the fall, and without his hands available to brace him, it had to have hurt like a bitch. He rolled himself over before I leaned down to help him to his feet. He flinched away from my touch after he was standing up, so I took my hands off of him.

“Don’t worry, I just want to talk,” I said calmly. “Please, sit with me,” I invited him while pointing to the empty table nearby that had chairs around it.

Mr. Keo watched me carefully as I led the way to the table and pulled out a chair for him. I think he understood that he didn’t have any chance but to follow me, but I think he also hoped that this was me showing mercy. He told me when we first met that he had heard of the things I liked to do to my enemies… but he was the kind of guy to think he was special, and he was probably thinking to himself that he was going to be one of the lucky ones who received mercy from me. He was wrong, of course, but I couldn’t let him know that quite yet.

As he sat down at the seat I had pulled out for him, I went around the table to sit across from him. I put my daggers away in my boot so that he couldn’t think that I’d use them against him, and that I really did just want to talk. All the while, Roman and Zsasz were leaning comfortably on against the table with all of the weapons on it. They were watching from a distance like they always did when I got a chance to play. They liked watching me toy with people because they were so used to the boring brute type stuff. I liked to make the pain linger.

“My husband has a flare for the dramatic, don’t you think?” I asked Mr. Keo, gesturing towards his tied up family. Mr. Keo didn’t respond or move. “I wanted to talk with you because I have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind.”

“And then what?” Mr. Keo asked quietly.

“That’s up to you.” I was smiling as brightly as I could for him to really lure him in. I needed him to think he was safe.

“What about my family?”

I shrugged, but I didn’t answer. I only proceeded to ask him another question, “May I see your hands?

He took a moment to gain the courage to bring his tied hands up to the table. When he did, I gently brought his hands closer to me. He didn’t see that I had grabbed one of my daggers from my boot before I cut the restraints off of him suddenly. The rope and his released hands fell onto the table.

“You’re very kind, Mrs. Sionis.”

I smiled again, “Do me a favor, won’t you?”

“Anything.”

“Keep your hands on the table for me,” I smiled and blinked innocently. He raised a brow, unsure of what I meant. “I suppose it’s not so much of a favor for me as for your family.” He was sweating again. “Allow me to rephrase,” my face fell flat and I leaned in close, “if you move your hands, Zsasz will get up and he will kill your family in the most painful of ways he can think of. And no one will stop him. All you have to do, Mr. Keo, is just keep your hands right where they are. Sound good?” Keo hesitantly nodded. I gripped my dagger in my fist and slammed the tip of the blade into the wooden table, just next to his hands. He flinched, thinking that I was going to stab him, but he didn’t move his hands from the table. I smiled, “See, it’s not so hard.” I tugged the knife until it budged from the wood and I could wield it again. “Lay your palms flat and spread your fingers as much as you can, please.” Keo did as he was told. “There’s this game all these kids used to play a few years go and it came with this cute, catchy song. They all loved it, I guess, because they could just pick up whatever, like a pencil or a straw, and start playing when they got bored. It’s cute, I suppose. But everyone seemed to forget what the real game was. Basically, the original idea was for people to get so drunk that they start making bad decisions and think that playing games with knives is a good idea. Once they’ve hit that point, they’re supposed to lay out their hands just like you are, Mr. Keo, and they sing that stupid song while stabbing the knife between each finger. The goal was to sing the song again and again while moving the knife faster and  _ not _ stab yourself.” It was a complicated explanation, I knew that by the way Mr. Keo looked at me. “Here, let me show you.” I took the dagger and started slowly stabbing the table space between each of his fingers just once. I did it slow enough that he wouldn’t immediately pussy out and move his hands, but that he also got the idea. Then, once I was done going over all ten fingers, I went back the way I came. “The point is to keep doing this faster and faster until someone gets hurt. I think we should give it a try, what do you say?”

I didn’t even give him a chance to answer before I started playing. The knife bounced back and forth between each of his fingers, slowly gaining speed. It nearly cut his knuckles with each pass. I smiled. He struggled to maintain his composure. His family, still there, right in front of us. Hanging. Watching. Both terrified.

“She’s just wasting our time,” Zsasz whispered to Roman, but loud enough that I could hear. I looked over at them while still playing the game and Mr. Keo winced. “This is stupid, boss.”

I rolled my eyes, and while still looking at them, I stabbed the knife into Mr. Keo’s left ring finger. He screamed and cried as the finger was partially severed. “Oops,” I said flatly, “I missed.”

Roman grinned and patted Zsasz’s shoulder, “See, she’s got it.”

I turned back to Mr. Keo and spotted that his hands were still on the table. Granted, it was probably because of the shock and the fact that only half of his finger was cut off, the other half was still caught around the knife. I started sawing in order to free the rest of the finger, and he tried with all of his strength to keep his hands on the table for his family.  _ Admirable, I suppose. _

Once the finger was off and Mr. Keo had proved to be a stone wall to the pain, I started again, this time starting as fast as I had been going before I was rudely interrupted. Mr. Keo was crying behind his tightly pressed lips as he tried to not move. His blood was pooling on the table, and the tip of my dagger would pick up some of it with every rotation, which was causing a mess.

“This is taking too long, boss,” Zsasz said again, but I got the feeling that he was just trying to egg me on now. He learned his lesson the first time around— if that wasn’t its own kind of test— but now he wanted to see Keo squirm so that he could have his fun with the family.

Now, I didn’t exactly want to let Zsasz win by purposefully stabbing Mr. Keo again, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that I desperately wanted Zsasz to join in. So I compromised and let the edge of my blade knick the syndactyly between his right handed pointer and middle fingers. As the cut dug in deep, Mr. Keo flinched and pulled his hands back instinctively. 

He immediately realized what he did, and tried to mend the situation by immediately putting his hands back on the table, but it was too late. Zsasz was already back up on his feet, twirling around a knife he found sitting on the table. Mr. Keo’s wife’s eyes widened as Zsasz approached her. She struggled against her bonds, wriggling her legs against the rope that had her strung up under the ceiling beams. She looked like a fish stuck on land, searching for safety and sanctuary anywhere but where she was. The way she struggled brought a smile to Zsasz’s face.

“Oh, Mrs. Keo,” Zsasz cooed, flicking the blade of his knife back out again. “Such a shame to ruin such a pretty face like yours.” He squatted down in front of Mrs. Keo and started  _ slowly _ cutting her face off. He took longer to do it with her than I had ever seen him do before. Usually, Zsasz was a master at this skill, working a mile a minute— I was convinced he could do it in his sleep. But he wanted to make sure she hurt just as badly as Mr. Keo. Afterall, she was just as bad as her husband… in the same way that I was just as bad as Roman. By this point, she had stopped moving and breathing. “Shit,” Zsasz groaned as he tucked his knife away and started pulling her face off.

Mr. Keo’s head fell forward in defeat after he saw his wife swinging over there lifelessly. I smiled and started playing again. “It’s just your daughter now,” I said to him. “You don’t want to let her down, do you?” He shook his head. “Good. Just keep your hands there and we’ll be square.”

“What about the daughter?” Zsasz inquired, this time looking to me rather than Roman.

“Wait your turn, Victor.”

Both Roman and Zsasz shifted ever so slightly at my comment. I never called Zsasz by his first name… Never… But it certainly caught their attention, and they certainly loved it.

While they were preoccupied with fussing around with their tight pants, I took the opportunity to unexpectedly stab Mr. Keo again. I was starting to look like I was absolute shit at this game with the amount of “mistakes” I was making, but where was the fun in being perfect at the game for him? I’d rather let them think I was bad at the game than let Keo get away with all of his fingers— and his life, for that matter.

“Fuck!” Mr. Keo cried out, stomping his feet under the table. He was trying to move everything but his hands just to keep him distracted, but I wasn’t going to let him succeed. Before he could recover, I stabbed the next finger over. “Please—”

“No,” I said sternly. “Do you even know all the pain you put my husband through? Do you realize that because of your actions, his father disowned him? Do you realize that every single shitty thing you’ve done in your meek, little life has led you to this point right now… Your terrible actions have brought you back to this very moment: a Sionis finally killing off your family. The Golden Lions will be no more in Gotham. The Keo family will end with you. Your dynasty has come to an end. Why? Because we’re the Sionis family and we’re not to be fucked with.” And I stabbed another finger. When I pulled the dagger from his finger, I suddenly stood from my seat and leaned over the table in order to bury my knife in Mr. Keo’s chest.

He cried out while his hands came up to grab at the handle. He tried to fight against me as I twisted the knife in his chest, but to no avail. When he realized that he had removed his hands from the table, and in turn was responsible for his daughter’s inevitable death, he gave up. Mr. Keo stopped fighting against me as I stabbed his chest again with more strength, A few more jabs with my weapon left Mr. Keo virtually paralyzed, but not quite dead yet.

I stood up straight before adjusting my jacket then walking around the table to his side. His eyes followed my bloody hands as I brought the dagger to his chin and started cutting an outline around his face. His jaw clenched and he screamed in agony, but he was too weak to fight back. By the time I got to his other ear, Mr. Keo was dead in front of me.

It took me a second to get a good grip under the skin of his face before pulling roughly. His face tore away from his skull with one jerk. I tossed his face on the table before wiping the blood off of my dagger on his shirt. I took in a deep breath and let out a relieved sigh.  _ Finally. That’s over with. _

“What about the daughter?” Zsasz finally asked again.

“I think we can let her go,” Roman spoke up. I looked up at him with a raised brow, and he only shrugged at me. “I mean, we’ve made our message pretty loud and fucking clear, haven’t we? Keo suffered and now he’s dead. I don’t see the point in killing her, too.” Roman let out a laugh as he looked at the two dead bodies in the warehouse with us. He finally got his revenge. He could finally leave this demon behind. Roman pushed himself off the table he was reclining against before walking over to Mr. Keo’s daughter. He gently cupped the back of her head before lifting her up ever so slightly so that they could look eye-to-eye. “Oh, baby, there’s no need to cry anymore.” After he pulled the duct tape off her mouth, she started profusely thanking him while sniffling. “You’re welcome,” Roman responded. But then he cringed, “Wait— Is that a  _ snot bubble _ ? Oh… Oh, ew. I’ve changed my mind. Jesus. Peel it off, Zsasz.” He let go of her head and desperately began pulling off his gloves and tossed them to the side. “You’ll take care of all of this, won’t you, Victor?” Roman asked his henchman while taking a step back.

“Sure, boss.”

I approached Roman’s side, “Where are we headed?”

“Home.” Roman wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close before kissing me so passionately, I thought I forgot how to breathe for a moment. “Baby,” he moaned, his hands roaming all over my body, “you are… fucking  _ magnificent _ .”

“I love you so much,” I whispered against his lips.

He kissed me again like he couldn’t help himself— like if he ever stopped, he’d die. And I kissed back as roughly and as passionately as I could. Roman had wanted this for so long. He dreamed of getting his revenge on Keo for nearly fifteen years; and, finally, it happened. Finally, he could say that he was responsible for the death of the great Keo family and that he brought an end to the Golden Lions. It was a huge win for him… And after everything recently, he needed this win more than anything.


End file.
